2 Dark Sides: The Golden Weapons
by RebelFanja
Summary: Corrupted by the Devourer's venom, Wu has been scouring all of Ninjago for the golden Weapons of Spinjitzu. Through his students, the masters of the four elements, he will have no trouble controlling their power. Now it's up to Nya and the rest of Garmadon's ninja team to retrieve the weapons first and stop her brother and his friends before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1 - Way of the Ninja

It was late afternoon, the sky a pale yellow from the sun dipping into the horizon while a warm breeze blew through the small town of Ignacia. As per usual at this time of day, Nya was polishing the merchandise in her father's shop, just in case a customer happened to stop by.

Ever since her father's death, business had been slow. There wasn't a very large demand for weaponry or armor nowadays, especially not in the small, peaceful village. But somehow her father had always managed to reel in customers from far and wide to make a decent profit. With him gone, there was no one to maintain sales, nor stock.

Of course, Nya had some knowledge of blacksmithing, but she couldn't quite put her heart into it like he had. She'd always had more of an interest in engineering than forging, and as a result, she didn't have much hope in keeping the shop running for much longer. But she couldn't bring herself to shut down the old family business.

Nya sighed to herself, eyeing her own reflection in a now squeaky-clean suit of armor. It was hard, being alone. Over the years, she'd managed to lose her whole family and now struggled to make a living just because she couldn't let the stupid shop go. She didn't know what she was going to do when she finally ran out of business. She had no one and nothing else to go to.

The girl jumped when she heard someone tapping on metal behind her. She whirled around, surprised to see a strange man inspecting a suit of armor. Strangers weren't very common in Ignacia. But here was this man, with a full head of gray hair and a thoughtful expression that was accented with wrinkles to tell of his age. He wore dark robes bordered with green and a white overcoat. In his hand he gripped a bamboo staff.

Nya hadn't heard anyone approaching her home. Where had he come from?

"Oh! Hello, sir!" she greeted him, composing herself. "Can I help you?"

The man hummed as if disappointed. "All this armor is loud and heavy, forged for a samurai. But I see nothing for a ninja."

"Ninja?" Nya repeated, stifling a laugh. It was strange enough to see an elderly man in a weaponry shop, and now he was speaking of ninja, in Ignacia of all places. "There aren't any ninja around here . . . But I'm sure I could still find something to your liking. We have plenty of weapons to choose from, suited for ninja or samurai alike."

"Actually, I'm not here for weapons or armor. I've come searching for something much more special."

"Okay . . ." Nya said, not sure how she was supposed to respond to that.

The man opened his mouth to say something more, but then paused, as if a sudden thought had struck him. He turned, watching the horizon.

Nya followed his gaze. An ominous horde of dark clouds was creeping over the distant hills, seeping into the afternoon sky like poison. As darkness fell, a shape appeared over the rise, followed by even more, smaller forms that shone with bright lights. Nya squinted, trying to make out what they were. Vehicles, by the looks of it, the largest one taking on the shape of a gaping skull. Nya grabbed for a staff as the truck came rumbling down the hill, closely followed by the rest of its entourage.

"What in the world. . . ?" As they neared, she could see that the invaders looked less than human. They appeared to be living skeletons clad in armor, with glowing red eyes and nasty smiles. She'd never heard of creatures like this before, even in her father's stories, and she couldn't imagine what they wanted.

"Stay here," Nya instructed the old man as the invaders drew closer and she stepped outside to meet them.

The truck came to a stop right outside her home. The other, smaller vehicles clustered around it, like rats around homing in on a scrap of food. Then a handful of skeletons dismounted and rushed toward her.

Nya swung the staff with all her might, managing to knock down three at once. She swung at another, but its head popped clean off making her miss. Nya gasped and stepped back as it attacked without missing a beat. She blocked, then kicked it in the rib cage and it went flying. She felt a brief moment of success before realizing that they had the advantage of numbers. Dozens more still surrounded her. She swung and jabbed and kicked, but they wouldn't stop coming.

She was starting to think that she may not be able to defeat their entire army by herself when she found herself face-to-face with the largest skeleton she had seen yet. A huge scar was etched across his bony face, his brow studded with piercings. But he stood hunched, and for a moment Nya hoped that he wasn't as dangerous as he looked. Then he pulled out four daggers – with four arms! – and her hopes were dashed. Nya tightened her grip on the staff. She was determined to fight until the end.

The scarred skeleton lunged forward, blades slicing through the air. Nya blocked them as best she could, but she could tell that her staff wasn't going to last much longer. As soon as she thought this, it was cut in half by one of the monster's blades. One kick put Nya on her back and she found herself helpless as the skeleton cackled and twirled his four blades.

Nya scrambled backwards, but there was nowhere to run.

Right as the skeleton was about to strike, a shout of "Ninja-GO!" and a flash of purple overcame him, pummeling and punching the skeleton away from her. When the colors faded and the whirlwind slowed, Nya could see that it had been the old stranger.

"Sensei Garmadon," the skeleton said, apparently familiar with the stranger. "Your Spinjitzu looks rusty!"

"I still have better form than my son," Garmadon quipped. "But at least he's not as sloppy as you, Samukai."

The skeleton growled in retort, and Nya wondered if it was really wise to taunt him like that. While they spoke, Nya took this as her chance to get back on her feet. It looked as if this Garmadon fellow had things under control, but he might still need some help. She glanced around for something she could use, maybe a weapon one of the skeletons had dropped.

But Samukai caught her unawares. With a throaty chuckle, he flung all four knives at the older man. Garmadon was easily able to dodge them, but it soon became apparent that he wasn't the target. They landed with thud into the leg of a nearby water tower. The structure became unbalanced and was sent crashing toward Nya.

"Ninja-Go!" Garmadon quickly whipped into another tornado and pulled Nya out of the way. As she once again struggled to stand, Nya glimpsed the skeletons, Samukai included, clambering back into their vehicles.

"We have what we came for," Samukai called out. "Wu says to return to the Underworld!" They revved their engines and shot back up the path they had come by.

"They're getting away!" she shouted, hoping Garmadon would do something to stop them. But he only stood at her side and watched as they drove off, vanishing back over the horizon.

In an instant, she turned on him. "Why didn't you stop them? They could come back. The whole village will be in danger!"

Granted, he was just one, elderly man against an entire army of skeleton monsters, but with that spinwhatsit move, she was certain he could take down the whole army. But the man simply shook his head. She looked fearfully back at the trails of dust fading over the distant hills. "What were they?"

"That was Samukai, general of the Skulkin army," he answered. "And if it's true that he's carrying out orders for Wu . . ." He sighed. ". . . Then things are far worse than I had feared."

By now, Nya was seeing this man in an entirely different light than when he first walked into her shop. "What's going on here? What did they want?" This man had come at just the right moment and seemed to understand everything that was happening. He must have an explanation. "Why did they come after _me_?"

The gray haired sensei smiled. "Please, Nya, take a seat. I want to tell you a story."


	2. Chapter 2 - The Task Ahead

At first, Nya hesitated at the idea of going with Garmadon and becoming a ninja. Not because she didn't want to – it actually sounded pretty exciting – but because she couldn't bear to leave behind her family's home. But, as Garmadon was able to convince her, she really had nothing left there. Her empty house was only full of disappointments and loneliness. Garmadon and his family could take care of her, and she would have a chance at a new life. Eventually, Nya agreed. She would follow him, she would train, and she would become the next Ninja of Water.

* * *

Nya hauled herself up the side of the mountain, pulling herself, finally, onto the flat surface at its peak. She approached the gates, breathless and exhausted. Despite the fact that she hadn't seen him since she started her climb, Garmadon was already there, sipping a cup of tea.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked in awe.

He nodded behind her. "I took the stairs."

Nya whipped around, shocked to find that there was indeed a set of stairs carved into the mountain which led to where she now stood. "What?! Why didn't you tell me there were stairs?"

Garmadon smiled mischievously. "You didn't bother to ask, so I didn't bother to tell you." He approached the gate. "But more importantly, you are in training right now. And the easiest path is not always the best." He pushed open the gate and led her inside.

"A monastery?" Nya observed as she gazed around at the open courtyard. The sun shone from a cloudless sky over the cobbled ground, and though the air was colder up here, Nya felt closer to it now than she had ever been before. The architecture was simple and yet beautiful and inviting. The wall encircled the space so that, at this height, it almost seemed as if the monastery was in a world of its own. "But aren't these places supposed to be, you know, peaceful? Why would you want me to fight here?"

But Garmadon shook his head. "You're going to _train _here. But first, you must be able to see what others do not."

"Okay . . ." Nya took another look around the courtyard. "I give up. What am I supposed to be seeing?"

By expertly spinning his staff, Garmadon knocked aside a golden dragon statue resting on a short pillar. A button popped out, which he gently tapped. This set the whole courtyard into motion as training equipment rose from the cobblestone. There were dummies and punching bags and poles and just about everything she could imagine they might need.

"Wow," Nya breathed. She marveled at the engineering that had kept it so well hidden seconds ago.

"He's back!" A young boy came running towards them out of the monastery, darting around the obstacles. Garmadon smiled and hoisted the boy up onto his shoulders. "This is my son, Lloyd. Lloyd, this is Nya. She's going to be training with you from now on. And this," he gestured to an approaching woman, "is my wife, Misako."

Misako's hair was gray like her husband's, braided and out of the way, which Nya could appreciate as being very practical for a fighter. She wore a pair of glasses and a warm smile. "Welcome, Nya."

"They'll be training you," Garmadon said.

"But, I thought you were going to train me?"

Garmadon set his son down as he shook his head. "I can't stay for long. There are others I must find."

"Others?"

"Yes, three. You didn't think you were going to fight my brother and his entire army alone, did you?"

"Just how long is this training going to take? Don't we have to hurry, since they already got the map to the weapons?"

"Have patience, Nya," Garmadon told her. "You will be ready when you are ready, and not a minute sooner."

Nya sighed. "Okay . . . okay. So when do we get started."

Garmadon nodded. "I appreciate your enthusiasm. Your training will begin soon."

Nya cracked a hopeful smile and looked to Misako. "Is _now_ a good time?"

* * *

Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole stood back-to-back, breathless, surrounded by the fallen figures of various Skulkin. It seemed they had won the fight, but they knew better than to celebrate too early. They waited, their heavy breathing the only sound in the dim cavern.

It was rare that the skeletons were a challenge for them anymore, but Wu was pushing them today. He'd had them face more Skulkin than they'd ever fought before, and even Spinjitzu had hardly made a difference. The Skulkin, thick as they were, they had a certain resilience and could put themselves together and come back for more.

In the end, however, the boys had pulled through. Now it appeared as if they had won the match, but they knew better than to celebrate too early. They waited, their labored breathing the only sound in the dim cavern.

A few moments passed before Wu finally stood from his throne. The boys turned to him and bowed. His red eyes burned from beneath the brim of his straw hat as they bore into the gazes of his students.

"I must admit, I am impressed," Wu praised them, something he did less and less these days. "When I think of when you all first came here, ignorant and uncertain, I can see clearly just how far you have come."

"Thank you, sensei," Cole said, head still bowed as he spoke for the rest of the group. "It's all thanks to you that we've become stronger."

"I will not lie to you," Wu continued, "Today's match was a test. And just as I expected, your results have shown that you are ready to go on your first mission." Wu relished the sudden shock in their eyes.

"A . . . a mission?" Cole stammered. Wu had often told them that they would someday be able to put their skills to good use. But they'd awaited this day for so long now, it had become like a distant dream. "What kind of mission?"

Wu held his hand up for silence before more questions followed. He slowly lowered his hand, the boys holding their breath in anticipation. "A long time ago, I told you the story of my rivalry with my brother." His words were measured, careful that they would not miss anything. "I told you that someday you would hear the rest of that story, and as you can guess, that day has come."

The defeated Skulkin had already begun to heave themselves to their feet again and put themselves back together now that the fight was over. Wu waved them out. The cavern echoed as the door swung shut, and Wu carried on.

"Long ago, my father shaped Ninjago using the power of the four Weapons of Spinjitzu. Those weapons were passed to my brother and I for safe keeping, but since my banishment, my brother is free to wield them as he wishes. He doesn't deserve this kind of power, which is why I set out to take them from him in the first place. Their combined power is too much for any mortal to control, and I can only imagine what he plans to do with them.

"Together, they are dangerous and uncontrollable. But separate, their power can be contained," Wu said as he stepped down from the platform. His students leaned forward, soaking up every word. "The masters of the elements may wield the weapons individually, allowing one to manipulate the very nature of Ninjago itself. That is why I have chosen you four, why I brought you here and trained you. You each have the potential to possess one of these weapons.

"The Scythe of Quakes," he said, looking directly at Cole, "The Sword of Fire, the Nunchucks of Lightning, and the Shurikens of Ice." He gazed at each boy in turn as he named the weapons. "My brother has hidden them all across Ninjago in an effort to keep them from me. Your mission is to take them back and bring them here." The old man's mouth quirked at the awe-stricken faces before him.

"Surely it's not too large a task for you to handle?"

"Of course not, Sensei," Cole answered. "We're just a little surprised is all. We never imagined that you had so much in store for us."

"But I know you can handle it. You _deserve _it. Imagine the power that will come with possessing these weapons. No one will ever look down on you again. No one could doubt your strength or skill. That's what you came here for, isn't it?"

Wu waited as Cole turned back to his team. Kai, Zane, and Jay each nodded in turn. "Alright, then," Cole said. "We accept."

"Good," Wu nodded. "You will leave soon, but first I must fill you in more. It will not be easy to steal the weapons back."

The boys exchanged looks again as excitement overtook their expressions. Wu felt a tinge of delight himself as his students bowed their heads again. "Yes, Master Wu."


	3. Chapter 3 - Phantoms of the Past

Within a week of being at the monastery, Nya was beginning to feel more at home than she had felt in a while. Misako was very kind and hospitable, but a tough teacher. She had Nya learning kata, trying out weapons, and running the obstacle course often, so Nya never got bored. Misako was even trying to get her in touch with her water element already, though Nya thought she was still a long way from being able to control it.

Nya even got along well with Lloyd. He was a nice kid, and he trained alongside her most of the time. They even sparred together once or twice. Nya thought it was kind of cute and figured that being a ninja must run in the family.

Misako was great at explaining all the things Nya needed to know. She broke down everything so that it was easy to understand, and they moved as quickly as Nya was able to learn. Nya was a little surprised at the woman's knowledge and skill when it came to combat; she certainly appeared to be more scholarly at first glance, but it also became clear that she was as dedicated to the martial arts as she was to learning. In this respect, she and Nya got along well. The young ninja-in-training was still very uncertain about everything that was going on, and she often turned to Misako to satiate her curiosity.

"I understand that Garmadon is, you know, getting a little up there in age," Nya said one day as she thoughtfully eyed a weapons display. She had yet to find a weapon that suited her. "But I've seen him fight and, honestly, I don't think I'll be that skilled any time soon, if ever. So why can't he and his brother just face-off against each other?" She picked up what appeared to be a sai, admiring the handle's design.

Misako sighed. "The fact is, Nya, this is much more than just a sibling rivalry, or even a fight for power. The very balance of good and evil is at stake, and Garmadon by himself isn't capable of influencing that decision, not against Wu in all his corruption. The balance is in constant shift, but can only be decided by one powerful enough to tip the scales."

Nya looked up from the sai. "And you think . . . we're that force? Me and whoever else Garmadon comes back with?"

Misako solemnly shook her head. "The final battle won't take place for a long time yet, that much is certain. You needn't worry yourself about it."

Nya studied Misako, picking up on the weariness in the woman's voice, but decided not to press her about it for now. She still wanted to know, "Then why am I here? If I'm not going to fight Wu then, who _am _I training to fight?" She frowned. "Do you really think four people could take on an entire army?"

Still, Misako's expression was troubled. The woman remained uncannily silent until she finally ventured to say, "Nya, we haven't known how to tell you this . . . but there's something else you need to know about Wu and the weapons."

Nya tilted her head, more curious now than ever.

"In the years since his banishment, Wu has been organizing his own group of fighters, the masters of the original four elements, to wield the Weapons of Spinjitzu for him. They are the only ones besides Garmadon and Wu with the power to use the weapons properly. That is why we decided to train our own elemental masters to contend with his. However, we didn't find out about it until recently, so it seems that we're a bit behind."

"Okay," Nya said, following her so far. But she still felt that there was something left unsaid.

Misako breathed another heavy sigh before continuing. "Nya . . . you have an older brother, yes?"

Nya stiffened, wondering what he had to do with any of this. It was a difficult subject for her. He'd ran away a while back, and a part of her had always felt like it was her fault. "Yes," she answered Misako, "but he disappeared a long time ago. I don't . . . I haven't seen him in so long. I don't even know if . . ."

Misako nodded. "Well, the thing is, Garmadon and I believe that Wu has manipulated your brother, as well as three others, into helping him find the weapons. With their help, he would be able to possess all four of the weapons at once without ever touching them."

Nya was unconsciously running her thumb over the flat of the sai, lost in thought. So that's why Kai had run away. And yet, this explained nothing. Nya knew her brother, and even though he had been a pain and a bit of a jerk back then, she knew he wasn't evil. "But why him?" she asked, though the answer was already coming to her.

"Garmadon told you already that your mother was the Master of Water. But did you know that your father was the Master of Fire?"

So Wu wanted Kai in order to get the sword. Kai could control fire. Is that what he had been doing whenever he had gone out? Learning to use his abilities in the same way that she was now? Nya shook her head, still trying to wrap her head around it. "It doesn't make sense. Why would Kai help him? He's not a bad person, he –" Nya gripped the sai tighter in her hand.

Misako stepped forward, laying a hand on Nya's shoulder. "Wu is clever and manipulative. I'm sure Kai doesn't really understand what's going on, only what Wu wants him to believe. But we need your help to fight Wu's army and protect the weapons. Most of all we hope that, as his sister, you will be able to help Kai see the light."

Could she really? After all this time, she finally knew what had happened to her brother. Her gut wrenched as she remembered the bruises she'd seen on his arms. This was much worse than she could have imagined. And to think what Wu might have done to him since then.

_Oh, Kai, what have you gotten yourself into?_ Was it really possible for her to make him realize that what he was doing was wrong? Or could he already be too far gone?

* * *

Evening was fast approaching, the day was nearly over. Seliel considered herself lucky to have made it to the market before all the stalls had closed for the day. Her father had told her that they were going to have last-minute guest for dinner, so she had rushed down to grab some fresh fish for the meal.

"You must be cooking up a storm tonight," said the fisherman as she selected a fish. Seliel's love for cooking and tasty dishes were widely known throughout the village.

"You bet. It's going to be my best recipe yet!"

The man laughed. "You always say that, but then, I guess you're always right."

Seliel took her purchase and left the marketplace behind. As she passed the other villagers on her way home, the waved and called out to her. Seliel would always wave back and return the warm greetings.

"Tell the family I said 'Hi!'" she would say, and "Dad's well, thanks!" and "You, too!"

By the time she got home, the sun had just passed below the horizon. Seliel hurriedly set about pulling out her supplies, warming up pans, boiling water, chopping up ingredients and mixing them together. She paid extra attention to her measurements, though when it came to season, she mostly went with her gut.

Her father came in when she was nearly finished. He was trying to sneak in and nab a spoonful of rice while her back was turned, but she whirled around and smacked his hand away with her spoon.

He merely chuckled. "I guess that means you've gotten everything taken care of here. You don't really need my help with this sort of thing anymore."

Seliel glanced up at the sudden change of tone in his voice, and she could have sworn she saw a flicker of sadness cross his expression. But it vanished as quickly as it had come and he said, "Garmadon will be here any minute, I'm sure."

"Exactly," Seliel said. "And I don't think he'd be very honored to get here and see you have crumbs in your mustache. So how about you stop bugging me and go get the table ready or something?

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

Seliel finished up and then brought the dishes out to the table. Almost as soon as they were done setting up, there was a knock at the door. Seliel waited as her father answered and welcomed the guest into their home. He looked older than Seliel had expected, but walked with the ease and confidence of a younger man.

"Seliel, this is Garmadon," her father stated. "He's an old friend. Garmadon, this is my daughter, Seliel." Garmadon dipped his head in greeting.

Seliel returned the bow and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." However, she couldn't help but notice a somber attitude from each of them. Perhaps the old man had come for more than a friendly visit. It had been really short notice. Was there something wrong that her father wasn't telling her?

They took their seats and dole out the food, but their conversation was unusually stilted and shallow. Seliel was dying to know what was on their minds, but she tried to tell herself that it was probably none of her business, anyway.

But things got quiet again, and their solemnity was palpable. She decided that she couldn't be patient any longer and finally asked, "Father, what's going on?"

Her father threw a glance at Garmadon, who only nodded for him to go ahead. Seliel glanced between them as her father heaved a sigh.

"Seliel, do you remember those stories I used to tell you about the Serpentine War, the Elemental Masters, and you grandfather?"

She nodded. Of course she remembered the stories. She had listened to them every night as a child. They had been awe-inspiring and thrilling to her young imagination.

"Well. There is one story that I have yet to tell you."

Seliel forgot about her meal for a moment and leaned forward, growing more intrigued with every vague and ominous sentence.

"Yes, you know all about your grandfather and his abilities, as well as the battles he fought alongside the other Elemental Masters. But what I didn't tell you is that those abilities were passed down to your mother as well and then . . . on to you."

Seliel's eyes widened. "To me? You mean that . . . _I _have the elemental power too? I can teleport?!"

Now both of the men were nodding. "With training," Garmadon clarified, "yes, you will be able to."

"That's not all," her father added. "You see, there are many Elemental Masters as you are well aware. But, back in the old days, there were four in particular who stood out from the rest, the most powerful of the masters, the wielders of the Weapons of Spinjitzu. They were the masters of fire, lightning, earth, and ice. Over the years, however, the power of the Elemental Masters has not been needed and they have faded into legend. As such, the weapons were stored safely away.

"However, a man by the name of Wu, the son of the First Spinjitzu Master, was corrupted by the darker forces of this world and sought to wield the power of the weapons for himself. Since his first attempt to seize them, he has been banished to the Underworld, and the weapons have been hidden. However, he still seeks to take the weapons for himself, and years later, his influence is being felt once again here in Ninjago."

"That's where you come in," Garmadon explained. "We know that Wu has an army, but more than that, he has found the descendants of the original four masters and has been training them himself so that they may retrieve the weapons for him. Long ago, I was tasked with keeping the golden weapons safe, and for a while I have been successful. But in order to stop Wu's next attempt to take them, Ninjago is going to need more than an old man to protect it."

"So you want me to help?" It was a lot to take in. Her whole life, Seliel had known the lore and legends of Ninjago, but it had always been locked in the past. Nothing so spectacular happened nowadays, especially not in this little town. She'd believed the stories her father had told her, for he'd assured her they were true, yet it all seemed too distant to have any influence on her life now.

"It is a large responsibility," Garmadon was saying. "But I believe that you will carry it well."

Seliel shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. My responsibility is here. My people need me. And Father – I couldn't leave you to run the village by yourself!"

To her surprise, her father started laughing. "Why not? Do think I'm that helpless? Young lady, I've been overseeing this village since before you were born. And in all that time, it never fell into chaos just because you weren't around to help me."

"That's not what I meant!" she protested.

Now he looked at her more sympathetically. Leaning forward to rest a comforting hand on hers, he said, "Running the village is _my_ responsibility. I appreciate all your help, but for the time being, it's not your to worry about."

"Seliel, by mastering your element, you would be able to defend all of Ninjago, and in turn, the people of your village," Garmadon reasoned. "If you really want to take care of the people here, then you must do everything you can to protect them from this evil. What do you say?"

The girl furrowed her brow, thinking hard. He did have a point. This way, she could save her village, as well as countless others, from harm. And, admittedly, it sounded really cool to be able to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and fight for peace.

Seliel looked to her father, then Garmadon. "If it will help my neighbors and my friends . . . and my father . . . I say 'Yes.'"

* * *

**Yep, I'm giving Seliel some elemental powers. And she won't be the only one . . . I know, I know, teleportation isn't really an _element _per se, but neither is speed, and smoke is already taken so MEH**


	4. Chapter 4 - Separation Anxiety

**Quick note before we begin: As you've probably already guessed, Pixal is going to come in before she should technically exist. Right now Cyrus's company isn't nearly as big as in the show since the whole Final Battle and the aftermath hasn't happened yet. But, we're just going to pretend that he's already made Pixal. I'm sure you all understand though, because it's for the greater good of the story, aka the DRAMA.**

**For the most part I try to keep my story as close to the original show as possible, but every once in a while there are things like this that I've had to change to make this work. I also de-powered Skylor a bit, but we'll go over that next week. For now, enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

Seliel took a deep breath. She'd reached the gates of the monastery where Garmadon had sent her – he left her at the base of the mountain, somethingabout having to find "others" – but Seliel still had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she never should have left home. _Stop being such a scaredy-cat! _she scolded herself. This was the first time she'd been this far away from her village, and Garmadon had made it clear that there was no telling how long she would be gone. Her emotions kept flipping from excited to terrified, and now she was starting to regret agreeing to help. She hated to admit that something as simple as leaving home bothered her so much.

Overhead, the sun was reaching its peak, but a few small gray clouds had formed, as if a storm was growing. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get inside before it started raining. Finally, Seliel mustered the strength to stop stalling and knocked on the monastery doors. She waited patiently until one door slid open a crack and a boy poked his head out, wide green eyes staring up at her curiously.

"Oh, hi." She gave him a small wave. Garmadon had mentioned he had a son. However, based on what she'd been told, she was surprised at how young he looked.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "What's the password?"

"I wasn't told there was a password," Seliel said, a little suspicious. She couldn't tell if he was serious or if he was just messing with her.

"What are you here for?" he pressed.

"Garmadon sent me. You know, to master my element and become a ninja."

The boy frowned, apparently displeased. "Another girl?"

Seliel chuckled. "Sorry, kid. Better luck next time?"

He opened the door wider. "Mom and Nya are over there practicing. But I'd keep my distance if I were you. And fine someplace dry." Then he dashed off.

Seliel followed at a slower pace and found a wide, courtyard ringed on one side by the monastery building, and by the wall on the other. Across the empty space, two women stood surrounded by barrels. The younger girl looked to be about Seliel's age, or perhaps a bit younger, and her eyes were closed in concentration, her brow glistening with sweat. She held her arms out, and it looked as if she were straining to push her way through open air. The older woman was giving her instruction, and as Seliel drew closer, she could make out what they were saying.

"Don't be so stiff, Nya. You have to be calm and fluid. The harder you try, the more difficult it will be."

The other girl, Nya, finally relaxed with a heavy sigh. "I can't do it! How am I supposed to try without _really _trying? All the physical training I don't have a problem with. But, I don't know. . . maybe elemental powers can skip a generation."

"Nonsense, Nya! You've already made it rain, but just because you haven't moved the water in the barrels you think you're a failure?" True enough, one glance around the monastery showed that there had been a small sprinkling earlier.

"Well _maybe _all that rain was just a coincidence. Right now that seems to be the more likely explanation."

The older woman put a hand on Nya's shoulder and said gently, "Don't give up on yourself just yet. Remember, your brother still needs you." Nya's face fell, but before she could say anything, the older woman redirected her attention. "But now your training must end for the day. It looks as if we have a guest."

Nya blinked in surprise, apparently just noticing the newcomer. Seliel had been listening patiently for a chance to cut in and introduce herself, and was grateful now to be noticed. "Hi. I'm Seliel. Garmadon sent me." She offered her hand.

"Nya," said the girl, shaking Seliel's hand with a firm grip. "It will be nice to have someone else to train with. Someone else my own age," she said pointedly. She threw a half smile at the boy who now sat under the shelter of the monastery's deck, his nose in a comic book, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"That's Lloyd over there. And this is Misako," Nya continued. The older woman's hair was tied into a braid, out of the way. Her smile was kind, and her green eyes shone from behind a pair of glasses. From the looks of her, Seliel was a little surprised to know that she was a fighter.

"She's the one who will teach you about your element," Nya explained. "Hopefully you'll have more luck than me," she said looking around at the barrels which Seliel could now see were full of water. "So what _is _your element?"

"Teleportation," Seliel answered, the word still feeling strange on her tongue. Powers like theirs had always been a part of fairytales, nothing more. It felt strange for Seliel to claim that she could teleport, too, even though she'd never done it before.

Nya gave her a funny look. "I didn't know teleportation was an element."

Beside her, Misako chuckled. "The elements have become less strictly defined over the years. Through each generation, there are occasionally descendants of the original masters who develop unique elemental abilities."

"Just how many elemental masters are there?" Seliel wondered.

"More than you ever realized," said Misako. "But that's a story for another time. It's getting late, and I'm sure you must be tired from your journey."

Nya brightened. "Come on, I'll show you our room."

As Nya led Seliel inside, Misako watched them go with a pained expression, wondering how it had come to this. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to make peace with the idea of taking these girls from their homes and training them to fight this war with her. What she wouldn't give for them all to have a normal life.

"They better not all be girls." Lloyd cut into Misako's thoughts, surprising her. She glanced over at her son and, seeing his troubled face, couldn't help but laugh.

"What? I'm really outnumbered here!"

* * *

Pixal looked out the window of Mr. Borg's office, watching the tiny dots of people swarming through the streets below. It was early morning, so most of them were likely on their way to their respective jobs. She liked studying people from up here in Mr. Borg's little office. It gave her a chance to learn from humans in their most natural state.

Pixal tilted her head to one side, trying to imagine suitable comparison for them. Comparisons, or metaphors, could be difficult to fabricate, but the exercise helped her to make connections she wouldn't otherwise notice and extend the parameters of her logic so that she could think like and understand humans much better.

She decided that the people below looked much like a colony of ants, hard at work. The streets were like tunnels, the city their anthill. They were hard-working and efficient, and capable of carrying much more responsibility than one would think.

The sudden chime of a telephone brought Pixal's mind out of the abstract and back to the concrete. She turned as Mr. Borg answered it from behind his desk. "Hello? Yes, good send him in." He set the phone back onto the receiver as he said to Pixal. "He's here."

Of course she had already deduced this through context, but she also knew that people would often speak more than necessary to reassure themselves, and it had become clear that something was troubling Mr. Borg. The best course of action would be to continue a dialogue in order to further reassure him. "Rest assured, I am confident that we have made the right choice, and that Garmadon will prove to be a very capable teacher."

Mr. Borg nodded. And yet, she could see that he was still not at ease. "You will contact me often?" he asked.

"Of course. As often as you like: hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly –" He chuckled, though she hadn't meant to be funny. Even so, it was nice to see some of the tension lift off him.

"It doesn't have to be quite so frequent, or even consistent for that matter. Perhaps whenever the urge strikes you. Though hourly may be a bit excessive." He turned towards her slightly, though the action wasn't very convenient for him in his wheelchair. "I'm sure you'll be busy with your new friends, learning about your abilities and fighting evil. Just . . . tell me when you learn something new about yourself. I always like to hear what you discover, especially from your perspective."

"I'm sure it will be beneficial to your AI studies," she answered.

Again, Cyrus chuckled and his face brightened just enough to make it genuine.

Across the room, the door opened and Pixal moved to her usual position beside Mr. Borg . The man who entered had hair that was the lustrous gray of humans, much like her own silver locks, though his signified age as much as the wrinkles at the edges of his eyes. He walked with a staff, though not as a crutch, not as if he needed it, perhaps more of a weapon than a tool. He stood tall and walked steadily, the picture of health for one his age, most likely a result of the years he spent training. However, further examination would surely reveal many weaknesses as a result of the years he spent in battle, as well.

"Welcome, Garmadon," Cyrus was saying. "It is an honor to have you here."

"The honor is all mine," he responded, his tone light and gentle.

"This is Pixal." As Cyrus gestured to her, Pixal bowed slightly. "We have been very excited, ever since you told us your story. It seemed there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she should be joining you."

The sensei bowed in return. "I'm glad she accepted. And I'm grateful to you, Cyrus, for letting her go. We need all the help we can get. And I think that Pixal's strength will come in very handy."

"I've always tried to make it clear to Pixal that she is free to go where she wants. She's been very helpful as my assistant, but itf her heart is leading her to save the world, then I won't stand in her way."

Pixal had the urge to remind them that she had no heart, but then decided that they probably wouldn't be very interested to hear it.

"We did some tests last night," Cyrus continued, "after you contacted me, in order to see if she had really received the elemental power you talked about. You were right, of course, but more than that, it seems that Pixal's . . . _unique_ physiology has given her additional abilities."

Cyrus Borg's ancestors were the Masters of Magnetism. Pixal would have thought that "Master of Polarity" would be a more apt title, but she was a decades too late to fix that. This revelation had apparently been lost to time, so that Cyrus had no knowledge of it until Garmadon had called searching for a student. When Cyrus had explained that he had no children, only a sentient AI of his own creation, Garmadon seemed to believe that Pixal herself would have inherited the element of his bloodline.

Though Garmadon did not know science and technology very well, he seemed to have a strong understanding of the mechanics behind these "powers," and after much discussion, he and Cyrus had agreed that Pixal had the potential to be an Elemental Master. Pixal, however, had had a difficult time wrapping her digital mind around such possibilities. In the end, she reassured herself that it simply didn't make sense because so little research had been done on the Elemental Masters and their abilities. Perhaps by becoming one of them, she would have a chance to study and learn more about them.

When Cyrus had asked for her opinion, she had determined that there would be no use in her existing with such abilities – which was something of a miracle, in itself– and not using them to her full extent to do the most she could with what she had been given. It was her job to be useful and help people, and this seemed like the best way to do it.

Cyrus sighed. "I suppose it's time for you to get going. From what you told me, Garmadon, it doesn't sound like you have much time to spare."

Pixal turned to Cyrus, briefly unsure of herself. Then she bent down and hugged him, her emotions suddenly taking over, as if it was only just now that she realized what it would mean to be separated from him. To go to a new place beyond the boundaries of Ninjago City, to go to a new world beyond the explanation of science.

"I will . . . miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you, too," he answered, squeezing her tight. When she pulled away, he hastily wiped a tear away, though he couldn't hide it, not from her. "You should get going. Go, and make me proud!"

Pixal smiled. "I will do my best, Mr. Borg."

"That's all I could ask for."

She took a deep breath, let it out with all the resolution inside of her, and turned to Garmadon. He led her to the exit, and as the door shut behind her she glimpsed at her creator's face one last time, wondering how long it would be until she saw him again.


	5. Chapter 5 - Decisions, Decisions

**Let's talk real quick about Skylor's powers. As I mentioned last week, I did have to depower her a little bit. Because, y'know, she's just really OP and this story would be over a lot quicker if I left her as is. So here's the rules: **

**1.) In order to steal someone's power it has to be through skin-to-skin contact, she can't just touch their clothes **

**2.) She can only hold onto one power at a time, so if she touches two people, she'll only be able to use the power of the last person she touched **

**3.) The power fades and eventually disappears after about a day or two**

**This will just make things a lot easier for me, and at the same time, more challenging in a good way. I think that's all for now with any major changes I made, everything else should be pretty much like you remember it. Except, very mixed up. Because, you know, it's an AU.**

* * *

Pixal reached the highest step just as the sun was setting. There were precisely one thousand steps leading to the top, and Pixal was impressed with the craftsmanship that must have gone into carving each one.

To the west, the sun was sinking into the horizon, turning the sky a pinkish-orange and setting the clouds below ablaze so they looked as if they were boiling with fire. It was a sight that even Pixal could appreciate as beautiful. The day had been rather warm, and as a result the doors to the monastery were wide open, a serious safety hazard, considering the circumstances. She could see that the courtyard was cluttered with obstacles – a training course, although no one seemed to be using it at the moment. Off to the side sat two young women engrossed in their own conversation.

"Even better, we could add voice filters!" said one as Pixal approached. "They'll make a great first impression."

"Misako said before that 'the best battles are won before they start,'" said the other. "Maybe if we can scare them bad enough, we won't even have to fight."

"Pardon me," said Pixal as she drew nearer.

Both girls looked up and she recognized the initial shock on their faces, though they tried to conceal it.

"Who are you?" The first girl asked tentatively. Her hair was colored bright fuschia, making her stand out like a torch in the dimming light. She held an unidentifiable object in her hands, and various tools and parts were scattered around the girls.

"I am Pixal. I have been sent to train with you."

The second girl nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Pixal. I'm Nya, and this is Seliel."

Pixal bowed. "Greetings. It is an honor to meet you both."

"Hey guys, Mom says dinner's re— Whoa!" A child came running out of the monastery and stopped right next to Pixal, mouth agape. "What _are _you?"

Pixal was prepared for questions like this, but it seemed that her new teammates had not been expecting such an outburst. Nya crossed her arms and glared at the boy. "Lloyd! Be nice!"

"What did I say?"

Pixal shook her head. "It's fine. Such reactions are natural. I know all of you must be wondering where I come from. I am P.I.X.A.L., the Primary Interactive X-ternal Assistant Life-form. I am an android created by Cyrus Borg. Seeing as Mr. Borg has no descendants, it appears that I have inherited the elemental abilities of his ancestors."

"We've got an android on our team?! Cool!"

Nya threw the boy another look. Seliel leaned back on her hands and asked, "So what's your element?"

"I possess the ability to manipulate polarity."

Both the girls exchanged a surprised look.

"Woah!" Lloyd breathed. "You can control poles?"

Pixal had to smile, and Seliel burst out laughing. "No, Lloyd. Polarity is kind of like a fancy word for magnetism.

"Oh . . . well magnets are cool, too."

"If you don't mind my asking," Nya started gently, "How does that work with . . . you know, you being all . . ." She gestured vaguely at Pixal's entire person.

Pixal listed her head, wondering why the subject made Nya so nervous. Perhaps she thought that the information could be confidential. Cyrus had never indicated that it was, and certainly Pixal's new teammate ought to be aware of her strengths.

"I do not mind telling you. Knowledge of each other's elements could be vital to our future success as a team. As Seliel explained, I can manipulate the way metals are attracted or repelled by each other. And, being that I am made of metal . . ." Pixal held out her hand as a wrench resting beside the girls shot forward and she deftly caught it. ". . . I can act as one large magnet," she finished with a smile.

Lloyd punched the air with his fist. "Awesome!"

"And you already seem to have a handle on your power," Seliel commented. "Very nice."

Nya chuckled. "Seliel and I have finally learned to _use _our powers," said Nya. "but we're still working on _controlling _them. Anyway, it's good to have you here, Pixal. I'm sure we'll all be great friends."

Pixal nodded, a small feeling, perhaps happiness or excitement, blooming inside. "Thank you. I certainly hope so."

* * *

Skylor was furious with her father. Yet again, when she had an opportunity to step forward and have some influence in his 'Master Plan,' he refused to let her take any real responsibility.

Recently one of his generals had been removed from his position. After failing miserably to follow orders, he had been sent to feed Clouse's pet snake . . . in the not-so-nice way. Skylor was sure she could have done better.

"Why _can't_ I be one of your generals? Don't you trust me?"

Skylor's father slouched in his throne, distractedly tossing a ball between his hands. "Because I'm the father, and I say you're not ready!"

"Yes, I am! I've trained all my life, I know the plan inside and out, and I've taken charge before. I can do this, Dad, just let me prove myself!"

He caught the ball in one hand and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "I know what you're trying to do. You just want to leave the island!"

"What? How does that even . . . No!" Truthfully, she did want to leave. Skylor was dying to go out and see the world. But that wasn't even what this was about. She'd learned a long time ago to stop asking about it, anyways. Still, her father was convinced that she wanted to run away and continued to use that as an excuse against her.

"I just want to be useful," she said honestly.

Her father's gaze softened for a moment. He finally stood and came towards her. "Skylor, dearest . . ." He clasped her hands in his. "You will be useful. It won't be much longer. We're close, I can feel it. Soon we will be ready, and then we can take our revenge on those that banished us here – and banish them instead! When I rule Ninjago, you will be able to go wherever you please."

"Okay, but that's not what I –"

"And what if you did go? Would you really want to leave behind your poor father when I need you most?" he asked, pouting.

Skylor rolled her eyes. "Dad, you're not even listening to me."

He dropped her hands and sighed in that way that meant he was tired of arguing and was about to shut down the conversation. "No, _you're_ not listening to _me_. I said 'no,' and that is my final answer! You should really be training instead of whining." He whirled around, cape flaring out behind him. "I have more important things to do than quarrel with you. Ungrateful child."

Skylor bit her tongue and turned away, storming out of the palace. She knew he wasn't being fair, but she also knew better than to keep trying to argue. He'd made up his mind already, so there was no way she could change it. But why couldn't he at least give her a chance to prove herself?

Skylor made her way down towards the beach, wanting to blow off some steam. The sun had just gone down and the stars were coming out. A cold breeze was blowing in from the north.

Really, she didn't think she needed more training. Maybe she was as arrogant as her father always said she was for thinking that. But she was convinced that she had reached a limit, and the only way she could keep learning was through experience from a real fight. Not that he wanted to give her that chance.

When she got to the sandy beach, Skylor started running through some of her basic moves. One of the training techniques she'd come up with to challenge herself was to practice on uneven turf like this. It was difficult to fight and keep her balance, so she had to move quickly to maintain a strong defense. Skylor wanted to be able to fight on any terrain at any time.

She fought invisible foes, kicking up showers of sand. Even as she stumbled, she tried to immediately take the proper defensive stance, then strike her imaginary opponent with a force that would have knocked them down, instead.

After a while, she finally paused, breathing heavily. She was considering heading back home when she heard rustling in the trees behind her.

At first, she assumed that the sound had come from an animal. The jungle was full of all sorts of sounds, even at night. But Skylor had been taught to stay alert, even when she thought she was safe, and she soon realized that it sounded more like someone was attempting to sneak up on her.

But who?

She couldn't wonder for long, and when the leaves rustled again, signaling to her where the the intruder was, she whipped around, intending to strike them with her elbow. She hit nothing except dead air, but was struck from behind and ended up face-first in the sand.

Skylor coughed, feeling grains in her teeth, but immediately rolled onto her back, only to come face-to-face with the end of a bamboo staff.

At the other end stood an elderly man whom Skylor had never seen before. His expression was half quirked into a smile. "Skylor, I presume?"

Seeing as she was pinned down, Skylor took a moment to spit out granules of sand. But her mouth still tasted of dirt when she answered, "Who are you?"

"My name is Garmadon. I'm guessing you've heard of me?"

His name did ring a bell. A very loud, whiny bell. "You're the reason we're trapped here!" she recalled.

"Chen is responsible for his own actions," Garmadon stated firmly. "And it's _his_ actions that led him here today."

So this was the man who was responsible for her imprisonment. He looked nothing at all like she would have expected, based on all the things she'd heard. "Haven't you done enough by banishing us here?" she asked.

"I'm not here to cause trouble," he answered, lowering his staff. "I'm here to speak to you."

Skylor eyed him suspiciously. He was lowering his guard. She might have better luck, this time around.

Slowly, she stood. She hesitated just a moment, then turned on her heel and tried to make a break for it back up the beach. But she didn't get two steps before she was tripped and landed, once again, flat on her face.

"You'll have to hear me out, first," Garmadon warned.

"Fine," Skylor growled. "I guess I have no choice."

"That's what I came to talk to you about. Unlike your father, you haven't had a chance to make your choice yet, Skylor." The old man approached a nearby by boulder and took a seat. He studied her a moment before saying, "I see you've been trained."

Skylor started brushing sand off her gi. "Of course."

"That's good. That's exactly what I need."

Skylor gave up trying to clean herself – she knew from experience how impossible it was to get sand out of her clothes – and crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain.

"Are you familiar with the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu?"

Skylor simply nodded, remembering her history lessons with Clouse.

"Then you must know how powerful they are. And what a threat they pose in the hands of an enemy."

_Not as powerful as _all_ the elements_, Skylor thought, but she knew better than to gloat out loud.

"The weapons, and by extension, all of Ninjago, are in danger."

"Your asking for our help?" Skylor asked, hardly able to believe it. "You're not going to get it."

"I'm asking for _your_ help."

"_My_ help?" she repeated incredulously. "Why would I help you?"

"Because this isn't your punishment." He gestured vaguely to the jungle, the beach, the waves. "This isn't your prison. You shouldn't be held responsible for the things your father has done."

"I don't just stay here because my father can't leave. I stay out of loyalty. It would be wrong of me to leave family behind."

Garmadon shook his head. "Chen is loyal to no one but himself. Being loyal to someone who is unfaithful to you will only bring you harm."

"Don't act like you understand! You know nothing about family or loyalty. I'm not just another one of my father's servants."

"Does he really treat you so differently?"

"Of course!"

"Of course," Garmadon echoed, nodding thoughtfully. "Because he love you. But is it you he really loves, or what you can do?"

Skylor opened her mouth to protest, but then she remembered what her father had said to her earlier. _You will be useful, _he had said as he held her hands. Because it was her power that was so important, such a vital part of making sure that his tournament went smoothly.

She shook her head, not liking the things Garmadon was making her think. She couldn't imagine turning her back on everything they had built here. "If you really think I would betray my father just like that, then you don't know me as well as you pretend to."

Garmadon shook his head. "No, Skylor, you don't understand. I'm not going to make you tell me anything. You can keep your secrets."

Skylor eyed him suspiciously, but, as far as she could tell, he appeared to be telling the truth. "You must really be desperate."

"In a way, yes. I could always find another Master if need be. But I would rather give you this opportunity and, truthfully, you are the most ideal choice."

"Oh, so I really do have a choice, then?" she snapped. "I was starting to wonder."

Garmadon sighed. "I'm sorry that it's not much of a choice. I wish I could offer you complete freedom, but even if I let you go out on your own, your father will probably come looking for you."

Skylor furrowed her brow, thinking she couldn't have heard him right. "You would still let me go? Even if I don't agree to help you?"

"Of course, if that's what you wanted. But you would be completely alone, and . . ." He gazed deep into the jungle, in the direction of the palace. "I understand that your father's reach is wide." He turned back to her. "No matter what, your father will come looking for you. But if you come with me, you'll have protection. I promise, I wouldn't let him take you against your will."

_Protection? From my own father? _But Skylor knew he was right. Her father was relentless, and he wouldn't be happy if she ran away.

_If_ she ran away. Was she really considering this?

_I want to go, _she admitted to herself. _But I also don't want to leave!_

"I wish I could have come here with a better offer," Garmadon continued. "I know it's not fair to ask you choose like this. But this is all I can give you, Skylor, and I truly wish to help you. You are not guilty of your father's crimes. You don't have to suffer the same sentence."

She didn't even understand what it was he wanted her help with. He just wanted her power as much as her father did. Maybe she really should go off on her own.

Garmadon seemed to sense her hesitation and spoke again. "Look around, Skylor. Your world is so small. You've spent your entire life on this island, and that's all you know. You do what's expected of you, to make _others _happy. But out there you will have a choice. You can be like your father, if that's what you want, and eventually you will be confronted with the same consequences. But it's your choice. You can be anyone you want to."

Skylor wasn't sure what to say. Her gaze was drawn to the horizon, where the moon hovered above a seemingly endless sea. Truthfully, she'd always been curious to see what lay beyond, but over time, the idea of anything more became like a fantasy. As Garmadon said, this place was her entire world, and that horizon was the end of it.

He was also right that, in this little world, Skylor had never had a choice. She never got to decide what she did or who she was or what her future would be. If this island was her world, then her father was the sun burning at the center of it all, pulling everything into his orbit and refusing to let go. He made every decision for her – just like when he decided that she would never leave.

Skylor clenched her fist. This would probably be the only time she got a chance like this. Her first and biggest decision for her own life.

She let out a deep breath. She lifted her chin and looked Garmadon in the eye. "Okay. I want to know more about this task you need me for, and _maybe _I'll decide to help you. But I do want to get off this island."

Garmadon seemed to relax a little as she said this. "Good. I'm relieved to hear it." He stood, and for a moment he gazed through the jungle again. The light of her father's palace glowed above the treetops.

Skylor stepped in front of him. "If I'm going with you, you have to leave my father and his island alone." She didn't know how much Garmadon knew about her father's plans, but even if she wanted to leave, she couldn't let him sabotage everything they'd worked for. She couldn't let him hurt her father.

Garmadon sighed and nodded. "Another problem for another day. Right now there are more pressing matters. Shall we go? Or is there anything you would like to retrieve to bring with you?"

Skylor thought about it. All her possessions would be back at the palace. Most likely, anything she left behind she would never see again. She might be able to pack up her most important belongings and sneak them out without anyone batting an eye. After all, who would question her?

But, it would still be a huge risk. The longer Garmadon stayed here, the more likely it was that someone would find him. And part of her was afraid she would change her mind.

No, if she was going to leave her old life behind, she would have to leave _everything_. Either Garmadon would provide everything she needed, or she would create a new life all on her own.

Skylor shook her head. "Let's just go. The sooner we leave, the better."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Skylor felt a mixture of excitement and regret. Everything was going to change now. But would it be for better or worse?


	6. Chapter 6 - First Impressions

"Here we are," Garmadon announced as they walked up the last few steps and the large wooden doors came into view. Skylor had to tear her gaze away from the clouds carpeting the world around them to look at her new home. Garmadon had already gone ahead of her and was holding open the door.

Skylor was doing her best not to look as if this was the first time she'd been away from home, but it was, and everything was so new and interesting. She turned as she walked slowly through the courtyard, drinking in the visual aesthetic that gave the monastery its sense of peace. It wasn't nearly as ornate or extravagant as her father's palace, but somehow that made it all the more lovely.

Garmadon cleared his throat and Skylor returned her attention to him. She could admire the scenery later – right now she needed to remain focused. Although she had decided to accept Garmadon's offer, she was still wary about this strange new world she had entered. And there was no telling what her new teammates would think of her.

Just then, another voice rang out in the air. "Alright short stuff – show me what you got!"

Across the courtyard, Skylor could see a couple people sparring, a dark haired girl and a younger boy. Off to the side, two more girls were watching the fight. There was a tall girl with bright pink hair and a confident stance, and another smaller girl who appeared to have silver skin. Skylor paid close attention, and was surprised to see that the boy appeared to be evenly matched against his taller and older opponent. She wondered if maybe the girl was just holding back.

"Very good, Lloyd," Garmadon called as he approached. "But your defense could use a little work."

"Dad!" Lloyd ran towards them and Garmadon bent down to embrace his son, while the others looked fondly on the reunion. Skylor studied them, and briefly, she wondered who among them was the leader, and how long it might take for her to assume command. She was broken from her thoughts when her name was mentioned.

"Skylor, these are your new teammates. Nya, Seliel, and Pixal." Three girls waved in turn. "Girls, this is your fourth and final member, Skylor."

Skylor offered her hand to the first girl, Nya. She looked slightly younger than the rest, and she had a kinder look in the roundness of her face and her dark eyes. But instead of taking Skylor's hand, she only said, "It's nice to meet you."

Skylor smirked, figuring that they must have already been told about her powers. "It's alright, I'm wearing gloves." When Nya still hesitated, Skylor lowered her hand. "I guess it's too much to expect you to trust me upfront. Garmadon must have told you about me."

Garmadon cleared his throat. "Only about your element, as I told you theirs. That's the only thing that matters, after all."

The girls exchanged glances, but Skylor couldn't guess what they might be thinking. She would have to watch them closely. From what she heard, they had been training together for a while now, so they might not like having her come in and changing things up.

"I'm Lloyd. You want to spar sometime?" Skylor glanced down at the boy. "I hear you're way better than them."

"Hey!" Seliel protested.

Skylor gave the boy a skeptical look. He was young, but that was no reason to underestimate him. "You think you can keep up with me? I've been training my whole life."

"I know, I have, too! Please, I really want to practice with someone closer to my level! Mom and Dad always go easy on me and, well, _they're _still pretty new at this," he said, throwing a glance at the other girls.

Nya and Seliel glared at him, though Pixal didn't appear to be the least bit offended.

Skylor chuckled. "Okay, sure. It'll be an interesting challenge."

"Well, if you're so talented, why don't we hit the training course and see what you can really do?" Seliel said, though her tone was light.

Skylor considered the offer, but then Garmadon interrupted them.

"Actually," I think it's time you took a break from the training course." He looked to his son. "Why don't you go let your mother know I'm here?"

"But she –"

"Lloyd, inside. Now."

He heaved a loud, dramatic sigh before trudging back into the monastery.

The girls all watched Garmadon curiously. It was Nya who voiced their thoughts. "What is it, Sensei?" she asked.

Garmadon gazed at them with an expression that made each of the girls realize how important his next words would be. Skylor listened intently, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"I've told you all why you are here today, and you've each decided to accept the task ahead. But more than that, you were each chosen for your ties to the elements." He nodded to Skylor first. "Skylor, the Master of Amber. I'm certain she will adapt well to working with you all." He seemed to be saying it more to her than the others, though Skylor didn't know why he thought she needed to be reassured. "Nya is Master of Water," he continued. "It flows through you, strong like the river."

Nya looked to Skylor. "Hey, no hard feelings, right? I don't mean to be cold, but I just don't want you mastering my element before I do."

Seliel nodded in agreement. "We're a team, and I'm sure we'll end up being good friends, too."

Garmadon turned to her next. "Seliel is Master of Teleportation."

"Glad to have you on board, Skylor," Seliel said. "With your experience, you'll be a great help to the rest of us."

"Considering the rest of us have next to none, and our enemies have been preparing for years," Nya griped.

"Our overall fighting ability will not be significantly increased by a single member," Pixal pointed out. "On the contrary, our differences in experience may inhibit our ability to function coherently."

Garmadon smiled. "I'm sure you'll find a way to manage," he reassured her. "Pixal here is the Master of Magnetism." Skylor wasn't surprised, she looked like a giant magnet.

"I would think that 'Master of Polarity' would be a more accurate title," the silver-skinned girl commented.

"Polarity would be _less_ accurate," Nya argued. "There are many types of polarity in science and mathematics, and only one deals with the poles of a magnet."

"Perhaps, but Polarity also sounds superior," Pixal said with a light smile.

"Y'know, I don't think they were thinking a whole lot about physics when they started giving these powers names," Seliel cut in. "I mean, how is amber an element?" she said, nudging Skylor. The newer ninja merely smirked, but before she had a chance to respond, Garmadon pounded his staff like a gavel.

"Focus, girls." When he knew he had their full attention again, he continued. "I believe that you four are destined to protect the four Weapons of Spinjitzu from Master Wu. It is up to you to protect all of Ninjago from his dark reign."

"And . . . what about Wu's students?" Nya asked hesitantly. "What about my brother?"

Skylor perked up. "You have a brother? Is he cute?"

Nya looked at her as if she'd grown an extra head.

"Hey, I grew up on an _island_," Skylor said defensively. "The number of cute boys falls at about zero. First time out in the real world, I wouldn't mind fighting against a dark, handsome ninja."

"This isn't a joke," Nya said, and Skylor realized she might have gone too far.

Garmadon looked gravely at Nya. "Wu is using your brother to get to the weapons. I wouldn't be surprised if you have to fight him. But if you talk to him, you may be able to show him Wu's true colors and win him over to our side."

Nya nodded. "If only he knew what was really going on – "

But Garmadon cut her off. "I can't promise it will be that simple. Wu has had years to get inside the minds of his students and convince them to believe anything he wants. I have hope that we can help them understand the truth, but it will not be easy, and it will not be quick."

Seliel put a comforting hand on Nya's shoulder as the water ninja wilted a little at the news.

Garmadon cast one final glance over his four students. "It's time," he announced. "We must go to the first weapon."

Needless to say, the girls were a bit surprised. "Hold on, Sensei," Seliel interjected. "Are you sure we've had enough training? We haven't even learned Spinjitzu yet."

Skylor gawked at them. "You don't even know Spinjitzu?!" Just how did Garamdon expect them to fight anybody if they didn't even know one of the most fundamental martial arts?

"Hey, we've barely had any time to learn," Nya said defensively.

Garmadon nodded. "Fear not. Spinjitzu is inside of you all. But you won't be able to unlock it until the key is ready to be found."

All four girls exchanged glances, wondering if anyone knew what he meant.

"Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but the sun will be setting soon, and I'm getting hungry. We'll take the horse carriage in the morning." He turned and walked into the monastery, leaving them to ponder his vague words.

"So now we must also find a key?" Pixal asked, confused.

"I think it might have been a metaphor," Seliel gently suggested.

Pixal furrowed her brow. Skylor could guess that metaphors were a bit tougher for her.

"The first weapon," Nya repeated to herself. "Well, he sure doesn't make it sound easy."

Skylor silently agreed. All this about elemental powers and magic weapons and world domination was normal for her. But saving the world? That was a lot of pressure to put on four young girls.


	7. Chapter 7 - A Rocky Start

"When Master Wu told us that we'd be going on a mission, I expected it to be a little more exciting."

Kai leaned over the railing of a watch tower, eyeing the Skulkin below as they mined for the golden scythe. Wu had tasked his students with overseeing the skeletons and keeping a lookout for trouble, but so far it had only amounted to babysitting. He had been excited at the prospect of this 'mission' that Master Wu had spoken so highly of. They had even been given some awesome new ninja gis. But, with no weapon and no one to fight, their mission was turning out to be a big letdown. "What's the point of all our training if we're just going to sit around and do nothing all day?"

Beside him, Cole sighed. "Master Wu wouldn't have sent us out here if he didn't think it was important. He's certain that Garmadon is going to try and steal the weapons, we just have to be patient. When he does come, it might take all of us to fend him off."

Jay groaned. He sat on Kai's other side, his legs dangling over the edge of the tower. "But they've been at it for ages, and no one's found so much as a clue about where it is! What if it's not even here? What if he already came and took it?"

Zane shook his head. He was the only one who didn't seem deterred by the passage of time. He stood straight, arms crossed, never taking his eyes off the ground below. "I sense that it is near," he reassured Jay. "We need only to have patience and keep looking."

"Can't you use your fancy sense thing to feel out _exactly_ where it is?" Kai asked.

"My sixth sense is not so precise. If it were, you can rest assured I would have already told you."

Kai sighed. He really hoped that the other three weapons wouldn't take as long to track down.

* * *

In all the time she'd spent training at the monastery, Nya had never seen any horses, so she was a bit confused when Garmadon mentioned a horse carriage. She was rather disappointed to find out that there were, in fact, no horses.

"This is not how I wanted my day to go," she heard Skylor huff through her mask as all four girls worked together to pull Garmadon and the carriage along a path through the forest.

Each of the girls wore a gi of a unique color. However, Seliel and Nya had equipped themselves with specially-made masks and armor. The two had become fast friends once they realized they had a shared interest in mechanics and engineering. Using their combined skills, they had built themselves a couple of high-tech helmets. They'd had plans for cramming a bunch of cool features into the helmets but, what with the fate of the world at stake, they had run out of time. Still, they had managed to add a few features that Nya felt would help them make a good first impression.

They had offered to make helmets for the others, too, but Skylor had turned them down saying that she was used to her good old-fashioned, breathable cloth. Pixal had seemed to feel the same way, so they both wore traditional masks instead.

Jogging ahead of Nya, Seliel said, "You and me both, sister." The 'additional features' on their masks were switched off for the moment, so her voice came out normal, albeit slightly muffled. In a quieter voice she added, "I mean, I know he's old, but he can still walk."

"It is my impression that this is for our benefit," Pixal said. "A training exercise. And I'm certain that he can still hear you clearly."

"I think I would prefer the obstacle course to this." Nya had gotten pretty good at the course herself, but this was just tedious. But, as the girls went quiet, she thought that maybe Pixal had a point. This was as good a time as any for them to get to know each other better.

Turning to Skylor, she asked, "So, you said you lived on an island?"

Skylor kept her eyes forward but answered, "Yeah. It's not as nice as it sounds."

"I'm sure it would get boring after a while," Nya sympathized. "Have you lived there your whole life?"

"Ever since I was born. Never left. Until now, that is."

Nya realized then how much Skylor must be looking forward to this adventure, even just to have a team full of new, potential friends. She must have had a lonely childhood.

Seliel scoffed as she voiced Nya's thoughts. "Did your parents just hate people, or what? Didn't they think you'd need, you know, friends?"

Skylor hesitated. "I had friends. Sort of." Nya could see how uncomfortable this conversation was making Skylor feel, and her suspicions were confirmed when Skylor quickly changed the subject. "What about Pixal? I don't mean to be rude but, there's got to be an interesting story there."

"There's not much to tell," Pixal admitted. "Cyrus Borg designed and built me in a lab. In fact, I have only been in existence for a few years, much less than any of you, or even young Lloyd."

"Whoa. I never would have guessed. You know, you're really mature for your age," Skylor joked.

"Well I do have enhanced intelligence that likely surpasses any of yours," Pixal answered mater-of-factly.

"What about you, Nya?" Seliel asked over her shoulder. "Where'd you come from?"

"Nowhere special, just a small town. Nothing much exciting happened. Not until Garmadon showed up, that is."

"I've never had a problem with living in a small town, but I guess I just prefer the simpler things," Seliel said. "I suppose I have an advantage, though, since my dad's the mayor. That makes it a little more interesting."

"Shhh, stop!" Sensei Garmadon suddenly warned. The girls skidded to a halt. Their sensei dismounted and silently guided them up the sloped path to the flat hollow of a mountain. "The Caves of Despair," he announced.

A wall of stone circled around the side opposite from them, dotted with dark holes. Garmadon led them behind a large outcropping that overlooked the busy hollow before them. From where they hid, Nya could see a network of skeletal figures digging out the earth in search of the weapon. Nya wondered briefly if her brother was here, too – and whether she might have to fight him. But she pushed the thought away and focused instead on the task at hand.

"They must be getting close," Garmadon observed. He turned back to his students. "Remember, the weapon will be of no use to any of you. Only the Master of Earth can fully control its power."

"Alright, we're going to need a plan," Seliel stated.

"I have one," Skylor said almost immediately. "Follow my lead." And with that, she dashed off.

Surprised, Nya and the others looked to Garmadon for confirmation. He merely shrugged, so they had no choice but to hurry after Skylor.

* * *

"I sense something."

Kai perked up. "Is it the weapon? Did you figure out where it is?"

Zane leaned forward, peering out over the caverns. "No . . . but there's someone here."

"Garmadon?"

"Possibly. Most likely."

Finally! It was time to show what they were capable of.

"Alright team, split up," Cole ordered. "Zane, you stay up here and keep an eye out. Let us know if you sense anything else. And warn Samukai. The rest of us will go down below to see what we can find on the ground."

Kai was already heading toward the ladder, ready to kick some butt. This was his chance. He could finally prove himself to Master Wu and make everyone realize that he truly was the best ninja.

* * *

"Where did she go?" Seliel hissed. They'd already lost Skylor, and they were still too far from Samukai's watchtower.

"There." Pixal nodded toward a distant, orange-clad figure skirting the shadows bordering the hollow.

Nya glanced at their surroundings, trying to find something they could use to get closer while staying hidden. "If we can get to the conveyor belt over there, we could use it to reach the watch tower," she suggested.

"Good thinking," Seliel said. "Let's go!"

They skirted through the shadows and reached the conveyor belt unseen. It was at an incline so that when they clung to the underside it lifted them up towards their destination. Even as the girls passed right under their noses, the Skulkin never realized they were there, just kept babbling on about a donut or a rock or something. Then the girls were able to scramble up and nimbly leap onto the roof of the tower, landing soundlessly. Skylor was already there, watching Samukai through a hole in the roof.

"What was that? You left us in the dust!" Nya whispered, letting her annoyance show through.

"Weren't you right behind me?"

Seliel shushed them both. They all looked down through the opening where Samukai was studying the map. They had to wait until he finally set it down and walked away.

"It's upside-down!" Pixal observed.

"Then they've been digging in the wrong place this entire time," Seliel said.

"But how do we get it?" Nya wondered. Sure, Garmadon knew where all the weapons were – he had hid them, after all – but they couldn't just leave it there for the Skulkin to find the other three. Samukai was still nearby, so it wouldn't be easy to swipe the map without getting caught.

Skylor answered by pulling out her crossbow. She tied a string to the end of an arrow, then aimed at the map and fired. It landed with a muted _thud_. Skylor then tugged the arrow back to herself, the arrow's point clinging stubbornly to the map; Samukai gave no indication that he realized what was happening.

When Skylor had carefully unhooked her arrow, she let Seliel hold it out for them all to see. Right-ways up, it clearly pointed out where the scythe ought to be.

"Good, it's close," Seliel said.

"So what's the plan?" Nya asked.

"I think – wait, where's Skylor?"

Nya looked around to see that Skylor had already vanished again. Nya had to bite her tongue to keep from growling in frustration.

"What's her problem?" Seliel whispered. "She does remember we're a _team_, right?"

Pixal shook her head. "As I said, the disparity between our training and hers only makes it more difficult for us to work together."

Seliel sighed. "Well we better try and catch up before she gets caught. Come on."

* * *

Kai had alerted some of the Skulkins that there was an intruder, but honestly he didn't expect them to be much help. He paced through the dust and rubble and commotion of the miners, eyes peeled for anything suspicious. This Garmadon guy sounded crafty, so there was no telling what he might try. He had trained alongside Wu, so Kai expected him to be just as strong a fighter.

Looking up, Kai strained to see the elevated caverns. There were sentries at every entrance, so it wouldn't be easy for anyone to get inside. But as Kai surveyed the caves, a bright spot of color caught his eye and he witnessed three colorfully-clad individuals creeping along the rock wall. To his chagrin, they easily snuck right past a couple of witless skeletons.

So, it looked as if Garmadon had his own troupe of minions to do his dirty work for him. Finally, things were getting interesting.

Kai paused. He was tempted to follow them by himself, to see if they had managed to find the weapon already. But Wu had been very specific that this was a team mission, to test their ability to work together in a real-life situation. If Kai messed that up, Wu would be furious. Besides, this was Cole's weapon. Kai wanted to prove himself, but for now, it would be better to wait for the _right _chance. And that chance would come with the sword.

So Kai mentally marked which cave he had seen the figures go into, then ran to find the rest of his team.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Golden Weapon

"Way to be a team player," Seliel said dryly when they finally caught up with Skylor in the cave. Seliel was trying to keep calm, but she was quickly losing her patience with Skylor's lack of cooperation.

Skylor was squinting through her mask at a round stone that the cavern had led them to. "Sure, no problem," she said distractedly. "Come here and help me move this."

Seliel exchanged a look with Pixal and Nya. She sighed and went to help Skylor. They would need to have a serious talk about Skylor's teamworking skills later. Together, the four girls were able to push the large rock aside and revealed a new opening into a second, smaller cavern.

"Wow," Seliel breathed when she stepped inside.

A large dragon head, broad and colored like earth, erupted from the middle of the cave, and a shining golden scythe was lodged in its snarling jaws. All around, huge, crumbling stone busts sat against the walls like a shrine.

Instead of going straight for the scythe, Skylor walked over to one of the wrecked heads that lay tilted against the wall. "This looks like a good place." She squeezed in behind it. Again, Seliel couldn't help but throw a look at Nya and Pixal, wondering if they had any idea what was going on. A moment later, Skylor peeked back out. "Hurry up! Do you want them to see us?"

"I think we would all appreciate an explanation first," Pixal said gently.

"We're not mind readers, you know," Nya added, a little less gently.

"Just, come on!" Skylor said, waving desperately for them to join her. "I'll explain everything, just hurry!"

Reluctantly, Seliel, Nya, and Pixal squeezed in behind Skylor. The orange ninja remained in a position where she could see the entrance, and didn't look away from it as she spoke.

"I spotted Wu's students as soon as we arrived, all four of them." Seliel saw Nya shift uncomfortably beside her as Skylor continued. "I knew we would need them here because only the Master of Earth can pull the scythe from its resting place."

"What makes you think that?" Seliel interrupted.

"Well it makes sense, after Wu went through all the trouble of finding these guys and training them up. Sure, there's that bit about how he can't use all four weapons at once, so he probably wants to use the ninja to control the weapons for him. But the thing is, he couldn't even get his hands on the weapons without them in the first place. Think about it: if Wu hadn't gotten to the ninja first, Garmadon would have been able to recruit them instead, and it would have been them here instead of us."

"Wu wouldn't have stood a chance," Seliel concluded, admittedly impressed by Skylor's deductive skills.

"Exactly. Wu must have known that he couldn't win without them on his side."

"It seems your experience outmatches us in knowledge as well as skill," Pixal observed.

"I think Garmadon said something about it," Skylor said, hurriedly brushing off the compliment. "Anyway, I made a few 'mistakes' on my way here, and I'm sure one of them must have seen me." She frowned. "But I thought they should be here by now."

Seliel, trying to remain patient with her new teammate, laid a hand on Skylor's shoulder and said gently, "Next time, could you let us in on your plan before jumping into action?"

"I guess . . . I assumed you all had figured it out, too."

Seliel wanted to say more, but decided it was best to leave it at that for now, unless she wanted to spoil their ambush.

More time passed, minutes probably, though it felt longer than that. Seliel rested her hand on the hilt of her katana. She was itching to draw it out so she was ready, but there wasn't a whole lot of room. Still, there was no sign of the enemy.

"Do you think it's real?" Nya whispered, her eyes fixed on the dragon head. "Imagine chopping off the head of a real dragon!"

"It does not appear to be made of any regular sculpting materials," Pixal answered. "If it is not authentic, then the artist would possess a most remarkable skill."

Seliel was wondering, if it was real, how one would go about killing a dragon when, suddenly she had a thought. Or rather, she remembered, something Garmadon had said. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to confide in the others just as a loud cry cut her off.

* * *

"One . . . two . . . three!" Cole and his brothers leapt into the cavern with their weapons drawn, uttering a war cry. But to his awe and disappointment, they found the room was empty, save for the golden scythe.

And the giant, snarling, head of a dragon.

"Whoah!" Jay exclaimed, his blue eyes wide at the statue that was practically eating the scythe. "That is so –"

Cole put a hand over Jay's mouth. At least they had their masks on, so he wouldn't be able to lick Cole's hand like last time.

"Shh!" The black ninja hissed. He didn't want his team looking like a bunch of goofs in front of Garmadon's students. "They're here," he said quietly. He didn't need Zane's sixth sense to know that. Kai had seen them come in through the tunnel. And the tunnel only led to this one place, and the door had been wide open.

He signaled for the group to spread out. Slowly, Kai, Jay, and Zane crept around the stone dragon, while Cole covered the entrance.

"Not over here," Kai reported from the other side of the statue. Cole would never admit it, but his heart had skipped a beat when they first entered, thinking that there was an actual dragon in the room. Thank goodness he knew how to keep his cool. Cole glanced about the room and decided that the intruders must be hiding somewhere.

"Alright. If they don't want to show themselves, I guess we're free to take the scythe and go. Cover me." His brothers turned away from the scythe, eyeing the walls with suspicion as Cole steeled himself and climbed up the dragon's muzzle. He stood, balancing on the statue's upper fangs and its chin. It was slightly unnerving to be standing over its gaping jaws, but he knew he was just being ridiculous. Wu would be disappointed if he showed any cowardice towards something so harmless. He carefully gripped the weapon's curved blade and tugged. It slowly inched upwards until he finally yanked it free. He looked around, waiting for their enemies to jump out.

"Maybe we were wrong," Kai suggested.

"Impossible," said Zane. "There's nowhere else they could have gone."

Cole stayed where he was as he carefully albeit awkwardly wrapped the scythe in a cloth. Then there was a sound like the echo of a gunshot and someone pushed him off the statue from behind. With a shout, Cole fell and landed hard on his side. He still clutched the weapon – that was about the only thing he was aware of for a moment.

There was some commotion before someone shouted, "Fall back!" Feet trampled past him as another shot echoed through the caves. He heard one of his brothers shout, "Get them!" as someone – Zane kneeled by his side.

"I'm alright," Cole growled as he heaved himself to his feet, gripping the long handle of the scythe as if his life depended on it. He held out an arm to stop Kai from dashing back into the tunnel. "Don't. It's a trap. They'll ambush us as soon as we go out there." He groaned, rubbing his sore shoulder. "What _was_ that?"

"It appears that one of our foes has the ability of teleportation," Zane informed him.

"Did you get a good look at any of them?"

They all shook their heads. "Colorful," Jay remarked.

Zane nodded. "No doubt all elemental masters as well."

"What kind of ninja wears a gi that bright?" Kai scoffed. "If you want color, go for subtle accents." He gestured to his own dark gi, with its red belt, gold borders, and flame pattern. "Otherwise you stick out like a sore thumb."

"Lookout, here comes the fashion police," Jay chuckled.

Cole ignored their banter, trying to think of a plan as he took his regular, less-than-magical scythe from off his back and put the Scythe of Quakes in its place. While this would be the perfect opportunity to test it out, Wu had forbade them from using any of the Golden Weapons just yet.

"What's the plan?" Kai asked, clearly keen to go out there.

But before Cole could answer, one of their enemies stepped into view. He wore a pale blue gi and light armor, his face obscured by a metal mask. "Are you going to come out and fight, or will you surrender and hand over the scythe?" he taunted. The mask distorted his voice, an amateur intimidation tactic that didn't really scare a ninja with half a brain. Jay, however, couldn't help but remark that it was cool, albeit more quietly this time.

Cole considered their options and decided to change tactics. He removed the glowing scythe from his back and held it out to Zane. "Make sure this makes it out. We'll cover you. But leave that one to me."

Kai rolled his eyes. "And you say I have anger issues."

"Come on, boys, let's make Sensei proud. Ninja- GO!" The four boys spun out into the large cavern. The blue-gray ninja took a step back in surprise, then took up a fighting stance.

Cole slowed to a stop in front of the teleporter, while the rest of their teams erupted into fighting around him. "Don't tell me you don't know Spinjitzu," Cole said, baffled. What kind of ninja didn't know Spinjitzu? This may be easier than he had thought.

"Shut up and fight!" The teleporter swung at him, but Cole caught his fist.

"Well if that's what you want." Cole punched him in the stomach, sending the teleporter stumbling backwards.

"Charge!" Cole was distracted for a moment when Samukai came through the cave entrance at the head of the Skulkin army to their aid. There was no way that these four amateurs were going to escape now, let alone with the scythe.

Cole turned back to the blue-gray ninja who was back on his feet and attempted to strike again. "Back for more, I see." Cole swiftly dodged. "I was really expecting more of a fight today. But I guess I should thank you, you're making my job a lot easier."

Honestly, who trained these guys? He ducked his head from another blow as he said, "From everything I'd heard, I expected Garmadon to be a better teacher." The more Cole talked, the angrier the teleporter became, the more recklessly he swung and kicked. It seemed too easy, almost cruel to carry on like this.

Some Skulkins had surrounded them now, ready to detain the teleporter when Cole was done, but mostly just watching the show. Cole decided to show this guy what a real ninja could do. At the next opportunity, he took over offense and began battering the teleporter with blows. The other ninja could barely keep up half the time, and while he kept trying to retaliate, his punches were sloppy and only left him more exposed. Finally, Cole spun and kicked him across his armored face. The teleporter stumbled back, dazed.

"Not too bad for your first fight," Cole jeered. "But maybe if you stick around, Master Wu could teach you a few things." Time to end it. He signaled for a couple of Skulkin to restrain the ninja. Cole then placed his hands on either side of the helmet and lifted it off.

His blood went cold. Fuchsia locks spilled down over slim shoulders, blue eyes filled with hatred glaring at him from under thick lashes. "You – you're a girl!"

Her lower lip was bleeding, and she spit blood onto the floor as she growled, "And you're a boy! So what?"

Cole was speechless.

She took the opportunity to headbutt him in the face. Cole landed on his back with an _oomf_, the helmet clattering out of his hands. Cringing as pain exploded through his face, he found himself bewildered once again. His eyes were watering from the stinging pain and he realized that blood was running from his nose, but the sights and sounds from the fight still raging around him made it difficult to focus.

Then the ground trembled and an earsplitting roar shook the cave.


	9. Chapter 9 - Defeat and Disappointment

An earth dragon stood on its hind legs just outside the second cave, flapping its wings as it released another loud and angry roar that bounced off the stone walls, amplifying it until it reverberated through the very bones of every human and Skulkin near.

"Retreat!" Samukai yelled. The Skulkin followed their leader, running scared for the exit and all but forgetting their allies.

Skylor took inventory of her own team: everyone had stopped fighting at the sight of the beast, and three of Wu's students were already making a break for the cavern entrance, leaving Skylor and her comrades free to escape as well. Nya was on the other side of the cavern, and Pixal was closest to the exit. But Seliel stood directly in the dragon's path.

Its glowing blue eyes were fixated on her – no, not on her, on the black ninja who lay in front of her.

The dragon opened its jaws wide, inhaling.

"Seliel, move!" Skylor shouted, hoping to snap the girl out of her stupor. A light flashed in her teammate's eyes and she started to move before the dragon exhaled with another mighty roar.

Skylor had to shield her eyes as dust hurtled from the dragon's jaws and earth was churned up where its breath struck. When she looked again, both Seliel and the black ninja were gone. Skylor's eyes darted around the room. The entrance was blocked now, all eight ninja trapped inside, her team still scattered.

"I think this is starting to get out of hand," Seliel said, suddenly beside her, and Skylor was relieved to see she was okay. The dragon's roar must have been too loud to hear her teleport. She was breathless, bloodied, but with a strange gleam in her eyes and the hint of a smile on her lips.

The black ninja lie beside her, propped up on his elbows, gaping at the dragon in terror. Some ninja he was. Skylor took a mental note of this for later.

The dragon was glaring in their direction again, it's lip curled in a snarl.

"Hey! Beastie!" the red-belted ninja shouted as he snatched the scythe from the white ninja's back. The dragon caught sight of this and turned its full attention to him.

"No Kai, bad idea!" the blue one warned. "Sensei told us not to!"

Kai ignored him and swung the scythe, lodging its curved blade into the ground. The earth cracked around the blade, and the crack slinked towards the dragon. The cavern rumbled and shook as light split through the ceiling. Skylor took action and tried to help Seliel to her feet. But the blue-grey ninja shoved her off and knelt beside the black ninja who was still rooted to the spot. "Come on!" she yelled, tugging on his arm. He glanced at her and she was able to help him to his feet. Skylor would have elected to leave him behind, but there was no time to complain.

The ceiling was crumbling apart now, and a huge boulder landed on the dragon's head, crippling it for a moment. Seliel was taking too long trying to be merciful, so Skylor sprinted to the widening gash in the ceiling. The room rumbled and wobbled beneath her feet as rocks rained down on her head. She craned her neck, trying to find a path she could climb.

However, there was no easy way up, so she opted for Spinjiztu and was soon engulfed in an orange glow. She broke out into the open air and the gap that had been in the ceiling was now on the ground below, the dragon roaring angrily from within. A second, brown cyclone shot up after her, which turned out to be Seliel and the black ninja.

Seliel pushed herself away from him and knelt beside the opening. "Nya and Pixal are still down there!" she gasped.

Just then, a trio of vibrant cyclones rocketed from out of the fissure as Seliel jolted backwards, out of the way. When they slowed, Skylor could make out the figures of her teammates with them. There was a moment in which the two teams shuffled, Nya and Pixal moving to stand with their friends while Cole went to his. Then both teams stood apart, facing one another, while the roars of the dragon began to die down inside the cave. It echoed from within the fissure, a dark hostile line scored through the earth, warning each ninja to stay on their own side.

Skylor was the first to speak. "This isn't over. We still want that scythe."

The red ninja, Kai, scoffed. "I'd like to see you try and take it from us."

"We'll let you go this time," said the black ninja. The lower half of his mask was stained and Skylor could see a bit of red smeared in the gap under his eyes. She felt a twinge of satisfaction. "But this is a warning," he continued. "If you cross us again, we won't go easy on you."

Skylor didn't think they could really be that foolish. They already had the scythe, maybe he was just worried they could win it back. If the dark stain on his mask was any indication, they weren't all that tough. He was just bluffing them.

Nya moved forward. Her helmet altered her voice just as Seliel's had when she said, "We're not just going to watch you walk away, if that's what you think!"

The black ninja reached into his pocket. "Stay out of this," he said sternly. "You've seen how dangerous it is. We don't want anyone else to get hurt . . . but we'll do whatever it takes to get the rest of those weapons." With that, he threw down the pellets and the ninja were enveloped in a cloud of smoke.

The smoke was thick and pungent. It left the girls coughing and even made their eyes water until it finally started to dissipate.

Skylor waved away the wisps and saw that the space where the boys had just been standing was now empty.

"What a bunch of jerks," Seliel muttered.

"Come on, lets get back to Garmadon," Skylor said. But before she could move, Seliel rounded on her.

"And you! You were about to leave us in there!"

"I was not!" Skylor protested

"So you didn't just use Spinjitzu to get to safety without the rest of us?"

Skylor's frown deepened. "Well there would be no point in waiting. The gap was wide open, and you don't need my help to climb out."

"You keep forgetting that you're on a team. And if our _enemies _hadn't saved us, we might not have gotten out in time!" Seliel pointed out.

Skylor realized then that she was right. What if they hadn't been able to make it to the opening in time, or if they hadn't been able to find a way up? They could have been injured, trapped, or worse. Skylor found herself confronted with a concept she'd never had to think about before. She realized that, for the first time in her life, she was responsible for someone else's life in addition to her own. And not just someone that had to obey her out of fear, but someone who she actually considered an equal. Skylor didn't like to think what would have happened if the others hadn't been able to escape.

Pixal came and stepped in between them. "This is not the time for arguing. We're still shaken, and some of us are injured." She looked pointedly at Seliel, who already had a dark ring forming around her eye and dried blood running down her chin. "As Skylor said, we need to report back to Sensei Garmadon."

Nya removed her helmet and shook out her hair. "It's only our first mission," she pointed out. "We'll do better next time."

Seliel took a deep breath and led them back down the cliff face. Skylor hoped that Nya was right, because if they couldn't get their act together, at this point they stood no hope of retrieving any of the weapons.

* * *

Once they had met up with Garmadon again, they were all finally able to collapse to the ground and rest. Their sensei helped them with their wounds while they recounted the events. From the way the others told it, Skylor found that it had been a more difficult fight for the others than it had been for her. But, they had made it out at least, and no one had taken quite as much damage as Seliel.

"I am so going to make that guy pay," she growled.

"You already gave him a bloody nose," Skylor reminded her. "You may have even broken it."

"You think that makes up for this?" Seliel gestured to her bruised eye. She went quiet for a few seconds, glaring at the dirt, before she added, "And did you see his face when he found out I'm a girl? He looked so offended!"

Of course Pixal knew basic first-aid, so she was busy helping Garmadon treat the rest of their wounds. At the moment, she was patiently trying to attend to the cut on Seliel's lip as she spoke. "I did not see because I was otherwise occupied. But I am sure he was simply sorry for having hurt you after realizing that you were not what he expected," she said.

Seliel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because if he had known, he probably would have gone easy on me."

"Don't let it get to you," Skylor said.

Nya laughed a bit. "What about my brother, Skylor? Think he's cute?"

"Which one was he?"

"The one with a red belt. Kai."

Skylor pretended to think it over. "I think he gave me a pretty good bruise on my side." She rubbed the sore spot, wincing. "Nah, he seemed like a jerk, too." Skylor was just playing as Nya had been, but she noticed the water ninja's smile fade.

"He didn't used to be," she said quietly.

Skylor wanted to console her, but before she could say anything, Seliel asked, "Oh yeah, how did that go? Were you able to talk to your brother at all?"

Nya sighed and shook her head. "He doesn't know it's me. It's been so long since we've seen each other, I don't know if he'd recognize me, or even care. Or worse, what if he hates me?"

"Now, now, Nya," Garmadon soothed. "Let's not limit ourselves with 'what-if's'. I think you'd be surprised what a familiar face from a life long-past can do for a person."

Nya looked as if she was about to say more, but thought better of it.

"Maybe we should kidnap him," Skylor mused aloud. "Then he'll have to listen to what we say."

"Somehow, I don't think that will help our case," Pixal said.

Skylor shrugged. "Just a thought. So, what's next?"

"First, we camp out for the night," said Garmadon. "If you girls could start gathering some firewood, I can get it going before dark."

Skylor stood and stretched out her arms. "Then what?"

"Then in the morning, we will set out for the temple of ice."

* * *

Night had fallen. The forest where Cole and his team had set up camp alongside Samukai's army was full of shadows and strange sounds. The fire they had made provided the only warmth as the moon rose and the air grew colder.

Cole was still kicking himself for how the mission had gone. He had managed to clean all the blood off his face and while his nose was thankfully not broken, it was very, very sore. He wasn't going to let the scythe out of his sight, though, and he kept it in the holster on his back. Samukai and his warriors were camped out a few feet away while Cole and his teammates discussed what had happened.

"So . . . what do we do if they show up again?" Jay wondered out loud.

"As Cole said, we will have to deal with them properly," Zane answered.

"But . . ." Jay winced. "We can't beat up a bunch of girls."

"Cole didn't seem to have a problem with it," Kai said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"I didn't know she was a girl!" Cole hissed. He didn't want the Skulkin to overhear and think they were soft, but he had to agree with Jay. It didn't feel right. But Master Wu would not be happy if they let these girls get away with any of the weapons. Then again, they hadn't seemed to be very skilled fighters, by comparison.

"Look, Master Wu gave us a mission. And if those girls want to get in the way, then they'll have to suffer the consequences. But they clearly haven't had much training, so we shouldn't have to do much fighting, anyway. We'll tell Master Wu about Garmadon's students, but that they won't be any trouble. Got it?"

Kai, Jay, and Zane each nodded.

"Good. I've got –" Cole broke off as cold air grew suddenly colder. He recognized that feeling, like he'd wandered too far from the light of the warm fire and into empty shadows of the unknown. Wu was near.

The others noticed it, too, and glanced around for the shadowy figure of their sensei.

"My students," their master declared, announcing his presence behind Cole. The black ninja turned and backed into a line with the others before kneeling to him. His tone was calm, but Cole could see by the burning embers of his red eyes that it was an icy, brittle composure.

Cole quickly lowered his gaze. Hopefully he could chip away at the anger and soothe his master. "We found the scythe," Cole reported. "We were attacked by Garmadon's students – uh, they had found it first – and they tried to ambush us, but we were able to get the weapon and escape. They aren't very well trained, so they weren't a problem. There was also a dragon," he hastily added. He didn't want to dwell on that part. He'd acted like such a fool in the face of his greatest fear, and he preferred that Master Wu didn't know about it.

There was a long silence. Cole glanced up again when Wu said nothing. His expression hadn't dimmed. "Anything else?" he hissed.

Cole could guess what his sensei was referring to, though how he knew about it, Cole wasn't sure. He tried to avoid the subject in the hope that he was mistaken. "I guess, we didn't perform to the best of our ability, but next—"

"Don't play dumb with me! You used the scythe after I specifically ordered you not to!" Wu exploded, his patience run thin.

The boys winced where they knelt before their sensei. The adrenaline of the battle had worn off and now they simply felt weary. Their first mission had turned out to be a disaster, and now they would have to pay the price.

Cole felt Kai's gaze on him, but ignored him. This team was his responsibility, as were their actions. He would suffer Wu's wrath, not them.

But before Cole could say anything, Kai looked up and said, "Using it was my only option!" There was a subtle defiance in his gaze and Cole had to bite his tongue to keep from interrupting and making things even worse.

Kai had only admitted to his mistake because he knew Cole would be punished otherwise. Cole was ready to accept it, because the whole thing really was his fault. Kai, on the other hand, had done what was necessary to save them all. But Wu wouldn't see it that way. He and Kai had a somewhat strained relationship, and Master Wu seemed to make it his mission to put Kai in his place whenever he felt that the hot-headed ninja had stepped out of line.

"And why shouldn't we?" Kai continued. "They're our weapons, after all."

"_Your _weapons?" Wu echoed. "And I expect you think this is _your _army, and _your _power, too! Don't forget, I gave you everything you have, and I taught you everything you know. You'd be nothing without _me."_

Cole wished that Kai would stop. Maybe there wasn't much Master Wu could do here, in his shadowy form in Ninjago. But if Kai didn't relent, he would certainly be punished when they returned home. Maybe he would even be forced to go back right now, leaving the rest of them to retrieve the other weapons on their own.

"You are the students, and I am your master. I know better than any of you what must be done, and you need only to do it. Is that so difficult?"

To Cole's relief, Kai finally lowered his gaze and said nothing more.

"There are still three more weapons for you to retrieve before you can return," Wu reminded them, his tone low and cold once again. "Maybe next time you can get it right."

Cole inwardly cringed as he remembered one last detail, but summoned up all his courage and said, "Um, they also stole the map, Sensei."

"I have the map memorized," Zane piped up.

_Well thanks for telling me that now, _Cole thought.

"I trained you better than this," Wu said. "Do not fail me again."

With that, the shadow of their sensei vanished.

Cole shivered before getting to his feet. "Get some rest," he told the others. "We'll head to the next location in the morning." They dispersed, Cole knowing that he wouldn't be getting a whole lot of sleep tonight. They'd been sloppy this time, but he wasn't going to let that happen again. They would be ready for those ninja if they came back, he would make sure of it.


	10. Chapter 10 - An Icy Voyage

**Just wanted to let you all know we're at the halfway mark - thanks so much for reading so far!**

* * *

Pixal was grateful that she did not perceive cold like her companions, though she was sympathetic towards them. They showed all signs of discomfort in this weather: red noses, unsteady hands, etc. She felt especially bad for Skylor, who was the least accustomed to single-digit temperatures. However, she admired the three of them for being able to put up with it, and without any complaints, as of yet.

Presently, they were surrounded on both sides by glacial cliffs. Their boat drifted along the river that weaved between the towering ice, and the sky above was overcast with dark clouds raining down more snow.

At the helm, Seliel was steering the ship, with Skylor keeping her company. Seliel had lost her metal helmet in the caves after the fiasco with the dragon guardian (which, of course, she blamed the Earth Ninja for), and despite the cold, refused to don her mask until she really needed it. This left exposed her bruised eye which was now redish-purple and slightly swollen. There was also a scab that had formed where her lip had split open. She certainly looked the worse for wear than any of them, and she undoubtedly had more bruises she was hiding.

But this hadn't dissuaded her in the slightest. In fact, it seemed to make her want to fight harder than ever before. Seliel may not have been the most excited to become a ninja when they had first started, but it was clear now what drove her. Skylor and Nya, too, appeared to be more determined than ever. If only willpower could determine their outcome.

"How do you grow up on an island but never get on a boat?" Seliel was asking Skylor incredulously from her place at the helm.

"I never needed to leave," Skylor answered simply.

"That sounds rough," Seliel commented. "I couldn't imagine living alone on a small island for so long.

"Oh, there were plenty of other people. And Dad kept me busy with training." Pixal was reminded of her own early years, which had incorporated more tests than real world experiences. She realized that, in some ways, she may be able to relate to Skylor's situation.

"Hey, Pixal," Nya called. The water ninja had been practicing her kata to keep warm, but now she approached Pixal, icy clouds billowing from her mask. Pixal blinked once, shifting from her observant stupor to a more social demeanor.

"Yes, Nya? Is there something you need?"

"I was just thinking: you said before that with your elemental powers you can act as one big magnet. In that case, shouldn't you be able to get the weapons easily? Even if they have one, you could just rip it right out of their hands, right?"

"That's a good theory, Nya," Seliel called as she gently turned the wheel to avoid another iceberg. "But gold isn't attracted to magnets. Not real gold, anyway."

Pixal nodded. "Technically gold can be repelled by a magnetic field, but I doubt that will help much. I did attempt to get a feel for they scythe after we escaped the caves, due to the slightest chance that there may be some iron or other or other metal within, but I could not get a hold of it. I would assume that they are impervious to elemental abilities, anyway."

Skylor slumped. "Well that stinks."

"Of course you'd have already thought of that," Nya sighed. "For a moment there I really thought we stood a chance."

"Let's not count ourselves out just yet," Seliel encouraged them. "Sensei believes in us. There are three weapons left and, who knows? We might get lucky."

"Even if we get just one, that would be enough to stop Wu, right?" Nya said.

Pixal didn't find the odds to be very probable.

The boat jerked under their feet and all four girls stumbled. Pixal looked up at a crackling sound and saw that ice was creeping up the sails.

"What was that?" Skylor asked.

Seliel put her hands up. "Wasn't me!"

"No," Garmadon said as he came towards them. "We are here."

* * *

Zane was amazed by the seemingly natural formation of the ice mountain – literally, an entire mountain made from ice, with geometric patterns cutting through it like a diamond. In fact, it seemed more like a volcano, spewing ice from its top like a hungry iceberg whale. Even the torii gates that arched over their heads leading up to the mountain were constructed from ice.

Kai seemed relieved as they neared the entrance to the temple. He'd been complaining all the way up, understandably so, considering that he was drastically out of his element here. Jay and Cole on the other hand seemed to be getting on well enough, but it was obvious that everyone had an eye out for trouble. The Skulkin had been left behind to guard the mountains perimeter, as well as the scythe, and were ready to provide aide if necessary.

As for Zane, well, he was admittedly rather proud to be getting his own weapon, to be able to use the elemental power that he'd heard so much about and could already feel flowing through him. This place felt right to him. He could feel the cold air's sting on his skin, but it was energizing, the biting wind a call to his destiny and the softly falling snowflakes, each one unique, a part of him.

Cole halted at the entrance to the mountain's cave. At least the location of this weapon was much clearer than the last.

"We need to be ready, in case those girls try to ambush us again," the Earth Ninja warned.

"You really think they would try the same thing twice?" Kai asked.

"Maybe not, but we need to be prepared. Zane, you take the lead. Focus on finding the weapon, we'll cover you."

Zane nodded. Hopefully the path forward would be straight, and they would not have to rely on his vague extra sense as navigation.

"Kai, you'll watch our backs," Cole finished. As Kai grumbled about his position and took up the rear, Zane didn't hesitate to step into the icy-blue cavern. He felt no need for ceremony, for deep breaths or mental preparation. He was ready to get his element, right here, right now. It was mere steps away.

The inside of the cave was the same as the outside, and surprisingly well-lit. The light from outside bounced off of every angular surface until the room shone as bright as day. The path in front of them appeared simple enough. This actually worried Zane as to whether it might be a trick. But it wasn't long before his eyes landed on the dragon.

Its blue head was protruding from the ceiling like another stalactite, so ancient it was virtually part of the mountain itself. Two golden shurikens were suspended in midair just below its wide jaws.

"The shurikens!" Zane exclaimed. He was so full of excitement that he nearly sprang forward before his common sense kicked in and made him consider that might not be the wisest idea. He stopped short, the others colliding behind him. He hardly noticed them, though, as he was too busy scanning the room for any signs of danger.

"Sense anything?" Jay whispered.

Zane shook his head. "No. I believe we are alone here." His eyes drifted back to the dragon.

The boys approached the dragon head, recalling what had happened at the caves. Zane admired Cole for his ability to mask his widely-known fear as they stood directly beneath the beast. Of course, it did not attack them just yet. Last time it had waited until after they had taken the weapon, so they needn't be afraid.

"How are we supposed to get them from all the way up there?" Kai asked.

"I have an idea," Zane answered. "We can gain enough height if we lift each other up. Jay and Kai will work together as the base to provide structural integrity. You can support Cole so that he can then lift me up to the weapon."

Cole eyed the dragon head with a little more wariness now. "Okay," he finally said. "But be ready to leave as soon as you have them."

Jay and Kai got into position across from each other, lacing their fingers to create a foothold for Cole. Zane climbed over them as carefully as he could, Cole hoisting him up towards the weapons. Zane reached out his hand, and his fingers clasped over cold metal. Again, the thought that this was all too easy flickered in his mind before he felt a rush of pride and power. It felt good, seeing with his own eyes the key to his destiny and knowing that it would make him a part of something bigger than himself.

And then that sense of power seized hold of his arm until he couldn't move it. He saw that his arm was frozen to the shuriken. His eyes widened, attempting to work out a counteraction as the ice quickly crawled up his arm and along his torso. Before he knew it, he found that he was unable to move, staring helplessly as the dragon's jaws widened ever so slightly.


	11. Chapter 11 - Beginner's Luck

Pixal kneeled down at the base of the snowy trail leading up to the mountain. She pointed along the near-invisible footprints that the snow was attempting to hide from them. "The snow has nearly covered their tracks, but these shallow indentations lead in a cluster all the way to the mountain. The ninja must have already been through here."

"Okay, here's the plan," Skylor said. "You see this path?" she asked.

Pixal nodded, as did Seliel and Nya.

"This is the only way up the mountain, which means it's also the only way down."

"Yeah . . ." Seliel said, nodding slowly. "We can see that. So?"

"Well if it's the only way in or out of here, then the guys are going to have come this way once they have the shurikens. And they'll have to go through us." Pixal noticed Seliel and Nya exchanging a look as Skylor turned and glanced up at the distant mound of ice. "You guys remember the dragon from the caves, right?"

"I don't think we could forget an experience like that," Pixal pointed out, wondering why Skylor was pointing out such obvious facts.

"Well I have reason to believe there could be one here, too."

Nya held up her hands to stop her. "Look Skylor, it's great that you're trying to include us this time, but you don't have to explain _everything _to us. We understand the situation, just tell us what your plan is."

"Oh . . . well I just thought that, with a dragon chasing the boys and us coming up in front, they'll virtually be trapped. And I think the earth ninja has a thing about dragons, so maybe we'll be able to strike up a bargain. Like, if they give us the weapon, we'll let them through.

Seliel pulled her mask down over her face. "Sounds like a good enough plan to me. Let's just get going. It's freezing, and the sooner we get done here the sooner we can get someplace warm."

The four girls jogged up the trail, Skylor in the lead. Pixal went slower than her top speed, knowing that she would be able to reach the cavern entrance faster than any of them, but not wanting split up the team. They could barely hold their own against Wu's students as it was. Which made Pixal wonder why Garmadon placed so much faith in them in the first place. Even if he couldn't fight Wu's students on his own, would it not be better for Garmadon to accompany them and provide further aid? It seemed foolish to leave the fate of the world to four amateur ninja. But then, Garmadon was far older and wiser than them.

Pixal was snapped out her thoughts when her audio receptors picked up a sharp cry in the distance. She looked toward the icy mountain from which the noise had emanated. "They've awoken the dragon," she informed the others as she recognized the beastly roar.

A thought occurred to her then. If the boys were attacked by the dragon, was her team obligated to help them after being saved last time? Or was it something they ought to use to their advantage? It was a strangely gray area that Pixal was finding herself in nowadays, and it was not something she was used to.

Either way, Seliel seemed to have picked up the pace and Pixal followed her lead. The ground was now rumbling beneath their feet, though with less ferocity than it had when the earth dragon awoke. They could at least keep their balance like this. Already, Pixal was registering a small decrease in temperature. She was beginning to wonder if one could even manage to go near the dragon without freezing to death.

However, within seconds of the dragon's cry ending, Pixal registered a projectile departing from the mountain at an alarming rate.

"Incoming!" she cried.

The four girls leapt to either side of the path as a colorful, howling torpedo sped down the snowy trail at an uncontrollable speed.

"What was that?" Nya exclaimed, though Pixal was certain that they had all recognized Wu's students flying by. Pixal immediately changed direction and darted back down the mountain. She whipped out her blade, ready to fight. Her colleagues were soon at her side, though there was no way they would catch up to the boys.

"So much for that plan," Skylor said as they raced back down the path. "I'm guessing the white one would have the shurikens?"

"Undoubtedly," Pixal confimed.

"Alright, I'll go after him. The rest of you keep the others distracted; I'll draw back until I can get to him."

"Hold on –" Seliel hissed, but Skylor had already pulled away. "Fine. We'll keep them busy. Pixal, you handle Kai. Nya, you take on the blue one. But that earth ninja is _mine_!" she growled as she drew her katana.

Pixal wanted to warn Seliel against letting her anger get the best of her, but they were drawing close to the first arch where the boys had come to a hard stop. The male ninja had scrambled to their feet and now took notice of the approaching threat. All except for the ice ninja, who held a hand to his head in a daze.

Zane's head was spinning and he had broken free from the ice as someone grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet. There was yelling and the earth was rumbling and nothing would stay still. With a jolt he remembered the shurikens. He looked around himself frantically, thinking that they might have fallen into the snow. He can't have lost them – Wu would be furious! "The shurikens!" he said. "Where are they?"

"Woah, Zane, calm down!" Jay said from beside him. "They're in your hand."

Zane looked down felt a wave of relief.

"Come on, let's go!" Cole was shouting.

Zane stumbled as he tried to follow, the ground unstable beneath his feet. The mountain seemed to have ceased its rumbling and spewing, but that didn't make him feel any safer.

Before they could get very far, a figure _Kapow_ed in their path a few feet ahead. "Where do you think you're going?" the teleporter asked.

"We don't want to fight you," Cole said.

She crossed her arms. "Good, because we don't want to fight you, either. So just hand over the weapons and we can go our separate ways."

"I don't think they're going to negotiate," Kai warned.

The rest of the girls were coming up fast from behind. Zane looked to Cole for instruction.

"Don't say we didn't warn you. Get back to Samukai," Cole ordered Zane. "We'll cover you." He nodded to the others and together they rushed the teleporter.

Zane made a break for it, running around them and towards the place where the Skulkin and their ship should be waiting.

For a moment, Zane thought he was free and clear. But he gasped and almost tripped when a projectile shot past. An arrow, he realized. An arrow that had narrowly missed him.

More followed, and Zane thought that he was either really lucky, or that the shooter was just toying with him. Either way, it was difficult to run under the barrage. He knew that he had to face her or else run the risk of being taken down by one of the arrows, unable to escape.

He skidded to a halt, spun around, and met her with a roundhouse kick. The orange ninja ducked and used the opportunity to unbalance him. He was thrown on his back in the snow and had to roll away as she tried to punch him. He scrambled to his feet.

He heard Cole shout, "Fall back!"

His friends were there in seconds, Cole catching the orange ninja by the back of her gi and pulling her backwards. A knee to the stomach and she was down, leaving them free to make their escape.

Pixal, Seliel, and Nya were making their way towards Skylor. But Pixal paused, watching the boys go. They couldn't be allowed to escape, not without Pixal giving her best effort to stop them. There was too much at stake.

Thinking fast, Pixal held her arm out, aimed, and launched her built-in grappling hook. With her precise calculations, it hit its mark, catching the white ninja by the foot and bringing him down hard.

"Zane!" his friends shouted in surprise.

The blue ninja bent down to untangle his leg as Pixal drew closer. As Zane was getting back to his feet, he pulled out his ordinary shurikens and flung them toward her.

If he'd known what Pixal was capable of, he would have known how useless a move this was. Pixal reached with her hand and sought them out using her element. Then she pushed the shurikens backward.

She had meant to send them flying harmlessly around the white ninja, but then he too was sent flying backwards. As he hit the ground, the golden shurikens were knocked from his belt and tumbled through the snow, landing a few feet away.

Pixal was shocked. She hadn't intended to do _that_.

The other three boys ran to retrieve the shurikens, but before they could reach them, Seliel popped over, plucked them out of the snow, and popped back out of sight.

"Come on, hurry!" Pixal turned to see that Seliel was already on the boat on the shore. Pixal made a break for it, Nya and Skylor at her heels. Seliel and Sensei Garmadon let down a rope as they approached, and the girls began climbing to safety. Nya was the first to reach the top, and though she was out of breath and weary, immediately went to the helm. By the time Skylor and Pixal were on board, she was ready to get the ship turned around so they could set sail.

Pixal looked back at the boys who had recovered, but were now too far to catch up. They were left standing on the shore, watching their adversaries sail away. Concerned, she glanced back at the ice mountain, but there was no sign of the dragon.

Seliel leaned over the ship's railing. "Better luck next time!" she shouted.

Garmadon walked up behind her and whacked her hand with his staff.

"Ouch!" She yanked her hand away. "What was that for?"

"A ninja doesn't gloat about her victories. No matter how trying her opponent's have been."

He looked back to the boys on the icy shore. Pixal followed his gaze. Even as the ship was drifting away, she could see how defeated they appeared. Admittedly, there was a certain satisfaction in having won. However, when she looked back at Garmadon, she saw only sadness. "Is there something wrong, Sensei?" she asked.

The older man sighed. "I only wish they had not chosen to side with my brother. They will surely suffer his wrath for this defeat."


	12. Chapter 12 - Electric Ascension

Cole was pacing. He seemed to be pretty stressed and really, Jay could understand why. Kai stood off to the side fuming to himself. As for Zane, he was pretty glum, to say the least.

It had been quiet for some time. Everyone seemed to be pretty miffed by their defeat against Garmadon's students. They had underestimated them, and the girls had made up for their lack of skill by using their wit and ingenuity – Wu would not be happy about that. He hadn't shown up yet, and Jay was grateful for it. He had somehow known exactly what happened last time with the scythe, Jay wondered if he already knew about the shurikens.

And now Jay was pretty nervous about their next destination, where his Nunchucks of Lightning would be. If Garmadon's students managed to get them first, would he be blamed?

"I think I've got a plan," Cole finally spoke up. "Jay, have you managed to make that glider thing of yours work?"

Jay grimaced. He had been tinkering with that contraption for a while, but it was still just a prototype. "Kind of. . ."

"Can you make three more before we get to the ruins?"

"You're not thinking of using them in the middle of a _lightning storm_, are you?"

"According to the map, the nunchucks are at the top of the tower," Cole explained. "If we can get to them first, all we have to do is wait for the girls to come after us and then glide right to the ground. They won't be able to catch us, then."

"You forget, one of them can _teleport_," Kai reminded him.

Zane nodded. "Perhaps it doesn't matter how fast we can get someplace, she could always get there faster."

"But it'll be four against one. She won't be able to fight all of us alone."

Jay thought about it. Maybe, under his instruction, he could have them help put the gliders together. It could be worth a shot. Finally, he nodded. "Whatever gets us those nunchucks, I'm in."

* * *

Jay had never been afraid of thunderstorms. On the contrary, he looked forward to those 'gloomy' days, when dark clouds gathered in the sky, rain pattered on the windows, and the air rumbled with electricity. Now he understood why.

Standing among the floating ruins, the ground so far away, the wind whipping through his hair and bolts of light flashing all around him – everything just seemed to make more sense.

His golden weapon was so close; Jay was itching to get it in his hands, to feel its power. But Cole wanted them to wait. He was depending on the plan he'd come up with. They had climbed halfway up the ruins and then stopped to wait. Above them, a long chain reached into the sky, bridging the gap between pillars at the top and at the bottom. The golden weapon would be at the highest point.

Jay glanced at the ground for the millionth time. Still nothing. Jay groaned and asked, "How long do we have to wait here?"

"However long it takes for them to get here," Kai answered shortly.

"Just keep your eyes peeled," Cole interceded. "They're crafty. We can't let them sneak past us."

Jay glanced at Zane, who had been strangely quiet so far. "You okay?" he asked.

Zane only glanced at him. For a moment, Jay thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he said, "I simply can't fathom what happened at the ice temple."

Jay frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Right before we got away, when the purple ninja used her element and –"

Jay laughed. "Oh yeah, when she threw you on your butt in the snow?"

Zane didn't seem to find it as funny. "I'm serious, Jay. Her power, it's strange. I can't work out what she did."

"Looked like some pretty basic telekinesis to me," Jay said, still confused. "Maybe she's a Master of Gravity?"

Zane let out an exasperated sigh. "No, it was different. It _felt _different! At least, I think it did. Although I suppose I've never been telekenisized before . . ."

"Pretty sure that's not a word," Kai interjected.

"You know what I mean."

Jay shook his head. "I don't know what you're getting so worked up about, but I'm sure if it's important, we'll figure it out sooner or later. So far we only really know what one of them can do."

Their discussion was cut short when Kai abruptly leaned forward. "I think I see something!"

They all looked down the ruins. Toward the base, they could see a small group of vibrant shapes moving around.

"Wait until they get closer," Cole instructed. "Then we make our move."

* * *

Due to the erratic electricity skittering through the open air, it had been a unanimous decision that Pixal should stay on the ground with Garmadon. This had been rather disappointing, considering that the girls considered her the reason they had been able to retrieve the shurikens in the first place. But if they were all honest, it was really the safest decision. That left Nya, Skylor, and Seliel to scale the tower ruins themselves.

"Have you ever tried to teleport with more than one person before?" Nya asked Seliel as she reached for another handhold. She was getting tired of all this climbing and would have appreciated an alternative route.

"Well, no. I only just found out that I have these powers, after all."

"I think we ought to test them out sometime soon," Nya suggested. "All of us. It would be helpful to know our limits and how we can push ourselves."

"Maybe I should just try to go up there and get the weapon by myself," Seliel said. "I would be in and out, back before you know it."

"I distinctly remember you saying you couldn't teleport that far," Skylor pointed out.

"I said I didn't _think _I could. But maybe I don't have to. If I teleport a little bit at a time, it would be way faster." She looked like she had already made up her mind.

"Woah, hold on there!" Skylor objected. "What if Wu's students are already up there? You know we're no match for them by ourselves, and you alone wouldn't stand a chance. You'd be captured for sure, and with Pixal stuck on the ground, Nya and I would be the only ones to help you. And I doubt we'd be much use from all the way down here."

Seliel huffed in frustration. "Fine. Let's just hurry up, then."

The girls continued in silence, the air full of electricity that sparked and buzzed in their ears. The wind whistled, though not too loudly to hear over. Nya's muscles were already aching, but she dare not ask to stop.

For what had to be the hundredth time since this whole thing started, Nya's thoughts wandered back to her brother. She was certain that he still didn't know it was her under the mask. She worried about how Kai would react if he found out. Would he be more willing to listen if he knew it was her? And did he really not know the truth about Wu? Or was it possible that he was simply too far gone? How would he feel about her, knowing that she had sided with his enemy?

Admittedly, they had been growing apart for years, even before he ran away. Maybe that animosity had been festering all these years, and now had turned into hatred. Maybe the brother she had once known was truly gone forever.

"Look!"

Nya was broken from her thoughts at Skylor's cry, her eyes shot up. Four ninja stood at the base of a large chain that stretched into the thundering sky. The boys took a second to glance down at them, then began climbing the chain, one by one.

"Hurry!" Seliel instructed, though they were clearly too far to catch up. But neither of the girls argued. All weariness forgotten, Nya heaved herself up the rocky face of the tower as fast as she was able.

The girls reached the base of the chained structure when the boys were already on the top half of the tower. "We'll never reach them in time!" Seliel lamented.

Nya could see a certain determination in her eyes. "Don't you dare – we'll have no chance if we split up!" But Seliel was gone before Nya could say her piece. Nya growled and slammed a fist on the stone. Why could no one stay back and work _with_ their teammates?

"Just keep going!" Skylor instructed.

Nya obeyed, but her eyes were on the skies, watching for Seliel to pop back into view.

It took longer than she expected, but just as a bolt of lightning flashed overhead, Seliel _Kapow_ed back into existence –

– and began to fall.

Seliel gasped and reached out for any sort of handhold. Her fingers only just caught the rim of the tower, but her body twisted and she cried out as her arm was wrenched out of place. The pain seared through her shoulder, but the rest of her arm went numb. For a moment she feared that she would lose her grip, but her fingers still clung stubbornly to the edge.

Gritting her teeth, Seliel swung up her opposite arm up to grab hold as well. She clung to the side of the tower, unable to pull herself up, growing weaker by the second. She thought about trying to teleport again, but the pain and the chaos of the wind and lightning around her was too distracting.

Just as her fingers started to slip, two pair of hands grabbed a hold of her arms and began to haul her upward. Seliel had to bite back another cry of pain. But soon enough she was able to use her legs and scrambled onto to the flat peak. She immediately collapsed from exhaustion. Her heart was pounding, her shoulder throbbed, and if she never moved for a hundred years, it would have been too soon.

"Come on, sit up," someone was saying. The black ninja – Cole. She wanted to argue, but didn't think she had the energy, so she allowed him to help her up. "Your arm has been dislocated," he observed.

"Is that why it hurts?" she managed to growl sarcastically.

Cole huffed in mild amusement. "I'll have to reset it. Just hold still." He put one firm hand on her shoulder and another on her forearm. "Ready?"

Seliel gritted her teeth and nodded.

"One . . . two . . ." Seliel hissed as her shoulder snapped back into place. But at once, the pain started to fade a little, and she felt she could move her arm freely again. "Better?" the black ninja asked.

"Perfect," Seliel grumbled.

"Right. Jay, get the nunchucks." The blue ninja nodded and moved toward the weapon. Seliel had hardly been aware that anyone else was here, until now. But all four of them were, of course. They had made it to the weapon first.

Cole turned back to her. "If we get out of this, you and I are going to have a little talk."

"It's not 'if,' it's 'when,'" Seliel shot back as she rotated her shoulder some more. If he was going to resign himself to being eaten by a dragon, that was _his_ business. "Besides, the only thing I have to say to you is to stay out of my way."

"That's funny. I was going to tell you the same thing." He looked back to Jay, who was hesitating by the golden nunchucks. "Hurry it up!" Then to Seliel, "The dragon will be here any second, but we can take you back to the base of the tower."

Seliel glared at him. "I don't need any more of your help."

Cole scoffed. "You really want to try to climb back down?"

"I don't need to." She could be more careful teleporting down this time. If she could just make it back to her teammates, _they_ could help her.

"I've got 'em!" the blue one announced as he hooked the nunchucks to his colored belt. At this point, Seliel was painfully aware that it would be impossible to fight all four of them for the weapon.

Cole stood and offered his hand to her. "We have to hurry!" he urged.

She didn't want to trust them, and she certainly didn't want to owe them any more than she already did. They were her enemies for goodness' sake! But it seemed she had no choice. With a sigh, Seliel stood and took his hand. After everything that had happened so far, she couldn't believe she was going to let them rescue her _again_.

* * *

**Oof, I don't know why but Seliel always seems to get the worst of it, doesn't she?**

**Also I updated a few of the chapter titles. Recently I had been using some pretty generic ones because I didn't have time to think of anything before I posted the chapters (I should proooobably start working on those ahead of time, heh) but now they're just punny :P**


	13. Chapter 13 - Calm Before the Storm

When Seliel dismounted and finally set her feet back on the ground, she was wobbling unsteadily. But she was determined not to fall in front of the boys. She already looked pathetic enough as it was.

"Guess we're even, now," Cole was saying as he shrugged off the winged contraption.

Even. Of course that was the only reason he'd saved her. To settle a debt.

"Don't expect any thanks from me," Seliel snapped. She turned away, but Cole caught her by the arm.

"Hold on, where do you think you're going? I said we're even, but I didn't say you could leave."

"Let go!" she shouted, trying to wrench her arm free. But he'd grabbed her injured arm and it was still very sore. She realized that the ninja had her surrounded now, making it impossible for her to run.

"Your friends still have the Shuriken of Ice," Cole said, "but I'm guessing they'll want you more than it."

Seliel was worried he might be right, but she couldn't let her friends give up their only golden weapon to these guys. Teleporting wasn't an option with Cole holding on to her, or she might just take him with her. Nya was right, she really should have tested that out ahead of time.

Thinking fast, Seliel stomped on Cole's foot. He shouted in surprise and his grip loosened on her arm. She ripped her arm free, then locked her gaze on a tree in the distance and with a snap she vanished. She lost sight of her surroundings and time seemed to move slower. For a few brief seconds, she felt light as air until an instant later she was surrounded by foliage. She rocked precariously on a branch before steadying herself against the trunk. She still wasn't used to having everything suddenly change around her, and as her jump on the tower had proven, sometimes it took her a moment to assess her new surroundings and make the necessary corrections.

But thankfully, this time, the tree trunk was close and she was able to lean back against it. The leaves rustled a bit at her movement, but the wind blowing, it went unnoticed down below.

A few feet away, she could glimpse the boys through the gaps in the tree's leaves. They turned this way and that, probably hoping that she had been foolish enough to appear where they could see her. As if.

"Where'd she go?"

"I don't see her anywhere."

"Great idea Cole, let's take the _teleporter_ prisoner!" Seliel recognized the shrill voice of the lightning ninja.

"Hey, it was worth a shot," Cole argued. "We'll have to find a way to get those shurikens back somehow." Then he sighed. "I didn't think she would be able to get that far while she was injured. Guess I was wrong. Come on, let's get back to camp." The others threw a last glance around before they grudgingly turned to leave.

Seliel stayed in her tree, trying to steady her breathing for a few minutes more. When she was sure the coast was clear, she had to slowly lower herself into a sitting position and dangle her legs over the edge of the branch so she could hop safely back to the ground. She wasn't about to try teleporting again – she didn't have enough energy left, and it would be too loud, anyway. Those boys would just come running back to find her. She was tired and her feet felt heavy, but she marched on. She had to get back to the rest of her team. Even though Nya and Skylor had been closer to the base of the tower, Seliel was worried that they might be in danger from the dragon.

The surrounding forest was unexpectedly quiet, even for the dark of night. In the distance, thunder rumbled, and a constant wind rustled in the trees, but there was no sign of wildlife. When she finally reached the edge of the forest, she could see the silhouettes of Garmadon and Pixal waiting at the foot of the bottom-most pillar. She glanced up to see the lightning dragon circling the tower, but it was way up high, weaving in and out through the clouds. Lower on the tower, Nya and Skylor had apparently changed direction – they had probably noticed that Seliel had been with the other ninja when they fled. The two girls had almost reached the ground.

"Pixal!" Seliel called out as she neared. Pixal turned and ran to meet her.

"Are you alright?" Concern was written all over her reflective face, making the synthetic girl appear more real than ever. "We could hardly see what happened."

Seliel sighed. "I knew that if they got to the weapon first, we wouldn't be able to stop them. So I tried teleporting up there, but it was too far. The boys caught me and helped me down." She frowned. "I don't understand it. They always help us when we need it. They're nothing how Sensei Garmadon described Wu."

"Perhaps Wu has not totally succeeded in corrupting their minds yet. There may still be hope for Nya's brother. But I am glad that you are safe." Pixal put one arm around Seliel and the weary girl gratefully accepted the support as they went back to meet Nya and Skylor.

* * *

The forest where they made camp that night was dark, a small fire providing the only scrap of light. Seliel and Garmadon were managing the fire, and Skylor was drawing in the dirt with a stick, strategizing, while Pixal appeared to be meditating. Nya was fiddling with the golden shuriken, holding it pinched between her fingers and spinning it round and round. There was a sense of defeat hanging in the air that Seliel didn't like. But, admittedly, it was hard to find a light side to all this.

According to the map, they should be close to the Temple of Fire. Seliel and Skylor had been asking Sensei Garmadon a thousand questions, racking their brains for the perfect plan to get the weapon. But there were too many factors that put them at a disadvantage. Even Skylor was having difficulty coming up with a strategy she was satisfied with.

Nya gazed thoughtfully at the spinning shuriken. "I wonder if I could rig this thing up to a larger machine," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe we could freeze them all in their tracks." It sounded more like wistful thinking, and Seliel wasn't sure how useful an ice weapon would be in a fire temple, anyway.

Skylor threw her stick to the ground and hung her head in her hands. "It's useless! There's no way we can get that sword! We might as well get as far from Wu as we can and focus on keeping the shuriken safe."

Seliel suddenly had an idea. "Hey, you said your dad owns a whole island, right?" she asked. "Do you think he'd let us hide it there?"

Skylor's eyes widened.

"We probably shouldn't bother him with our mission," Garmadon hurriedly answered for her. "After all, this is our fight, not his."

Seliel was already curious about her loner friend's past, but even more so after their strange reactions to this simple suggestion. But it wasn't her business to pry, and she supposed that Skylor didn't have to tell them anything if she didn't want to.

"Wu has been preparing for this moment for years," Garmadon continued more solemnly. "He has amassed his forces and trained his students well. There is nowhere in Ninjago we could hide."

"Pardon me, sensei," Pixal interjected, "But if there is no way to hide the weapons from Wu, what could we do even if we collect them all?"

"Without any of the weapons, my brother won't be as powerful," Garmadon answered patiently. "And, even though you four are not masters of the four elements, my hope is that you could still learn to wield them with some measure of control."

"But where does it end?" Skylor asked. "We would have to spend the rest of our lives protecting the weapons, and then what? Wu seems practically immortal from his place in the Underworld."

"Rest assured, Skylor, the battle will not go on forever. The war my brother has started _will_ draw to a close. I fear, sooner rather than later." Again, Seliel wished her sensei would elaborate instead of speaking so vaguely, but she still got the impression that it wasn't her place to ask. She just wished that it all didn't have to be so complicated. She preferred a simple problem-solution setup rather than all this moral ambiguity.

It was Nya who brought the focus back to their present battle. "We shouldn't give up hope. We have just as much of a chance here as we did at the ice temple. We don't know what will happen, but that means there's an infinite amount of possibilities left. We just have to do our best."

Seliel nodded. "I believe in us."

But Skylor shook her head. "We just got lucky with the shurikens. Maybe if we had more training we'd stand a chance, but right now, it's just hopeless."

Everyone went quiet again. Skylor had a point. If only they had more time, then maybe they could manage it. But right now, it was hard to imagine that there was any scenario where they came out on top. That wasn't enough to stop them, though. Seliel was determined to keep fighting until the end.

But for now . . . .

There wasn't much point dwelling on things they couldn't change.

Standing, Seliel stretched one arm above her head. "Well, we've got one weapon, and I think that's better than nothing." She set her hands on her hips with a smile. "And if we see those boys tomorrow, they'll be sorry! Just let them try and take that sword!" She punched the air as if an invisible enemy stood before her.

"They'll probably try to talk us out of it again," Nya said.

Seliel rolled her eyes. "Those boys are all talk and now fight. 'You don't know what you're getting into!'" she mocked in a low voice. "'There's no way you can beat us!' Blah blah blah!"

"But they have fought us on multiple occasions," Pixal argued.

"I know, but, you'd think they would get the hint by now and stop going easy on us. There's no point letting an enemy come back to cause more trouble. I know I wouldn't."

"You sound like you want to be defeated," Skylor pointed out.

"They are not as cruel as their master and prefer not to hurt anyone. Considering what we have heard about Wu, I am for one am pleasantly surprised to find that they have such morals."

Seliel kicked at the ground. "Yeah. But it's still annoying. It wouldn't be so bad if _we _could kick _their _butts."

Nya dramatically put a hand to her forehead and said, "But they're just too powerful! We could get hurt!"

"Tell that to my blackened eye," Seliel grumbled. She started punching the air again, as if she could see the earth ninja clearly before her. "Next time I'll give him an eye as black as his stupid gi!"

"Now girls," Garmadon said, standing from his place by the fire. "As Pixal said, I don't believe that they mean any harm. It's likely that my brother has told them many lies, and they are merely misguided. They may even believe that they are doing the right thing."

Seliel lowered her arms with a sigh. "Well I'm still not going to go easy on them."

"Of course not! Whatever they believe, they're still wrong. And therefore it is your duty to, as you said, 'kick their butts!'"

Nya chuckled. "We'll sure try, Sensei."

"I still think it's hopeless," Skylor grumbled, hugging her knees to her chest. "You know, when this started I thought that it didn't matter if we were weaker, because I thought that I could carry the team on my own. Now I'm starting to think I was just making things worse, either by running off or bossing everyone around." She shook her head. "I should probably just go home. I don't even know why I came out here in the first place. At least there things had been a lot easier."

Garmadon harrumphed. "Easier, maybe. But can you really say you were happier there than you are out here?"

"Don't say that, Skylor," Nya soothed. "We like having you here."

"Your assistance has been invaluable," Pixal agreed.

Seliel sighed. "I'm sorry I got so angry with you before. We're all new at this, it'll take some time before we get used to working together."

Skylor was quiet for a moment. "I guess I'm just used to . . . being on my own," she admitted. "I've never had anyone to worry about but myself, and usually everyone just sort of knows what's expected of them. I've never really had friends to watch out for."

Seliel shrugged. "I suppose I was getting a little too worked up over everything. But, come on, it is the fate of the world at stake."

Nya groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Communication seems to be our main concern for the moment," Pixal said. "I suggest a focus on more interaction prior to an encounter."

Seliel nodded. "As a general rule, let's just make sure we all _discuss _plans before leaping into action. Time permitting."

"Including you, right?" Nya teased.

Seliel shrugged. "We all have things to work on."

"Some more than others," Pixal added with a slight smile.

Skylor snorted. "She got us there."

Garmadon grinned as he surveyed his students. "I'm proud of you girls. And whatever happens, tomorrow, I'll be proud of you, still."

Seliel wished she could feel the same. But, as positive was trying to be, she couldn't imagine losing. The word just wasn't in her vocabulary.

"Now, I think it's about time we all got some sleep," he continued. "You certainly won't fair much better if you're sleep-deprived."

The girls voiced their agreement and then settled down for the night. Still, they had trouble drifting off, and as the fire faded, so did their confidence, and in the dark of night they each wondered whether or not they really could defeat their enemy or if, in the end, they would be the ones to lose.

* * *

The cold of night stung, but stronger still was the tension that saturated the forest. The air seemed to echo with Sensei Wu's final words before he had disappeared again. Not even the trees stirred now, but seemed to be holding their breath, waiting to see the ninja's reaction.

_This is bad, _Jay thought in the silence. _This is way worse than anything we expected._ He knew that _this_ must be Sensei's punishment for Kai using the scythe against orders.

Jay looked at the red ninja out of the corner of his eye. At the same moment, Kai shot to his feet. "I . . . I need to think," he blurted out, and turned to stalk deeper into the forest. Beneath his brusque attitude, Jay could see how shaken he was.

When he was out of earshot, Jay turned to Cole. "Do you think he'll be up to the task?"

Cole rose to his feet as well, and Jay and Zane followed suit. "He'll be fine, he just needs a minute to let it sink in."

"I know, but . . ." _It doesn't seem right, _Jay wanted to say.

Cole heaved a sigh. "One way or another, we're getting the shuriken _and _the sword. We made a promise to Wu."

"We have a duty to uphold," Zane agreed.

Jay looked in the direction Kai had gone. "I just don't know how I would feel if . . ." _If it was one of you._

"We don't have all night," Cole said, quickly. "We'll need to get ready, too."

Jay nodded. Even if he didn't agree with the plan, the choice wasn't his to make. He was just expected to do what he was told. And maybe Wu was right. He usually knew what he was doing. There were greater things at stake.

Greater, even, than family bonds.

* * *

**Wow, okay, first off I want to apologize for this being so late today. I had to take part of a final today, and my class is in the evening, so I've been studying like crazy all day. Also I feel like this chapter is really long in a bad way and that the girls' conversation kind of drags. Buuut there's only so much you can do. But each chapter brings us closer and closer to the end, and I'm always excited to show you guys what I have planned next, just as I'm sure you're always excited to see it! So here's to next week! And good luck to any of you with finals, I'm right there with you. **


	14. Chapter 14 - King of Shadows

Nya was awoken by the sound of rustling in the undergrowth. At first, she ignored it – she was in a forest, there were animals, she had already had a hard enough time falling asleep with all the noise. But then she heard a whisper: "Nya!"

The water ninja bolted up. Glancing around, she saw that her comrades were still asleep. But that voice hadn't sounded like any of her friends. She peered into the darkness that surrounded their little campsite. It was difficult to distinguish anything amongst the silhouettes of the forest.

"Nya!"

Nya whipped her head around. She strained to see anything, but hidden in the shadows she thought she could almost make out a figure . . .

"Kai?"

Her brother put a finger to his lips. He threw a glance over his shoulder before saying, "I have to go." Then he vanished back into the brush.

"Kai – wait!" Nya scrambled to her feet and plunged into the forest after him. She could just barely see his shadow up ahead. "Wait! Where are you going? Kai!" He didn't stop or even slow down. He was too fast for her, and she soon lost him in the darkness and the undergrowth. She reached the spot where she had seen him last and looked all around, hoping for another glimpse. "Kai? Kai, please! Where are you? I just want to talk!" Nya forced her way through the bushes and gasped at the sight that lay before her.

It was the Temple of Fire, constructed at the base of an erupting volcano. A bridge led the way through a torii arch up to the temple itself. Gated archways were stacked in terraces along the path, and walls extended from the gates to wrap protectively around the temple. Nya could see her brother sprinting up the stone path and towards the main entrance at the top.

What was he doing? More importantly, why had he gotten her attention only to run? Nya wanted to follow him, but she wondered for a moment if this might be a trap. She should probably go back and tell Sensei Garmadon. After all, if Kai had discovered that she was his enemy, he might be using her sympathy to lure her here.

Nya shook her head. No, Kai would never do that. There would be no point, anyway, to bring her here to the final weapon, the very weapon they were both fighting for.

Nya ran out of the bushes and toward the bridge. Maybe he had actually led her here so she could take the weapon. Nya's feet flew up the path as she realized that all her fears had been wrong. Kai was helping her!

She could see him up ahead as he pushed his way through the gates. She barely noticed the stifling heat as she sprinted after him, ignored any fears of the unstable volcano. Climbing the levels of the path was tiring and she was already beginning to work up a sweat, but none of it mattered. She just kept going, even after her brother had entered the temple and disappeared from sight.

Nya only slowed down when she reached the temple entrance. She gently pushed one of the doors and it creaked as it swung open.

There it was, the last weapon, planted right in the middle of the room. And behind it stood her brother.

"Kai!" Overjoyed, she ran towards him.

But he didn't look as happy to see her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, a dark cackling resounded as a shadow rose from behind him. Nya came to a stop where the path abruptly ended.

"Lookout!" she called, but her brother didn't move. She reached in her belt for her spear, but her hands grasped at air. Glancing down, she saw that there was nothing there.

"Forgot something?" the shadow of Wu leered.

But Nya stood her ground. "You can't hurt us!" she reminded him. "You have no power from the Underworld."

"I wouldn't say _no_ power."

Strong hands seized Nya from behind. It was the earth ninja and the ice ninja. Their grip on her arms were like iron chains. She struggled, but they weren't fazed. Eventually, she had to stop for fear of pulling them all into the pool of lava bubbling at the center of the room. She glanced helplessly toward the entrance and saw that it was already being guarded by the blue ninja. Even if she could break free, she wouldn't be able to escape.

Defeated, she looked to her brother, who didn't even have the courtesy to look her in the eye.

Her heart sank as the disappointing truth crashed over her like a wave She had been wrong. All that hope was just childish thinking.

Kai had betrayed her.

* * *

_What am I doing?_

Kai clenched his fist and avoided his sister's gaze as Cole and Zane took her hostage.

Nya, his sister whom he hadn't seen for years. She was all grown up, now. Kai remembered a time when they had grown up together, slowly, when he couldn't hardly tell how much she changed from one day to the next because they both changed a little bit every day. Now, suddenly, she was older. There were lines just under her cheekbones that sharpened her features, and she was even a little taller than he remembered. Her arms were toned and muscular from all the training she was going through – training to fight him.

This was so wrong. Everything about it was wrong. Maybe she had never agreed with his choices, but they weren't supposed to be enemies over it.

"Kai!" Wu said sharply. "Take the sword!"

He looked down at the golden hilt that jutted from the ground. For a moment, he wanted to say no. He wanted to tell them to let his sister go and to get her out of this place, to explain everything to her and beg her to forgive him. But Wu wouldn't stand for it, and this may be their only chance to get the last two remaining weapons. He wasn't even sure if his friends would agree with him, and they had his sister.

"Now!" Wu shouted, his impatience rising.

Kai steeled himself and placed both hands on the hilt. He had wanted this for so long. Now it was finally his turn.

_But at what price?_

Kai brushed away the niggling voice in the back of his mind and instead hauled the sword up, drawing it out of the dirt. When it broke free, he spun it in his hand. He gazed at the golden blade, light from the lava glinting off the metal. He'd dreamt of this moment – but now that he was here, it wasn't nearly as satisfying as he had expected.

"Wu!"

Kai was jerked out of his thoughts. When he looked across the pool of lava he saw that Garmadon was struggling against Jay at the entrance to the temple. Garmadon knocked Jay off his feet and the blue ninja skidded across the ground, leaving Garmadon free to enter. Nya tried to turn to see him, but she was held fast. Kai sheathed the golden sword, trading it out for his regular sword, and awaited orders.

"Brother," Wu greeted him. "Come to bargain for the girl?"

Garmadon put his hand into the folds of his robes and pulled out something small and bright. Holding it above his head, he said, "Release her, Wu!"

"First give me the shurikens!"

"No!" Nya shouted. She continued to struggle, but in vain.

Garmadon bowed his head. "Alright. I will give you the shurikens if you release my student."

But Wu shook his head. "I know you too well, brother, to believe you would give it up so easily." He lowered his voice. "This is your chance to prove yourself, Kai. Get the shuriken!"

Shadowy figures appeared at the edges of the room, exact copies of Kai's silhouette. Kai had seen Wu do this before, but never so many.

Kai leapt across the gap to meet Garmadon. The shadows followed his lead, rushing forward as one. But the second Kai landed, Garmadon flung the shuriken and the fire ninja's feet were frozen in place. Kai's arms pinwheeled as he tried not to lose his balance and fall flat on his face. The shuriken bounced right back into Garmadon's hand and was stored away again.

Kai tried to chip at the ice with his sword, but he couldn't make much progress without risking injury to himself. Luckily, they were in a temple of _fire, _and it was already melting away, steam rising from the ground.

Meanwhile, the shadows had descended upon Garmadon, and the old sensei was managing to fend them off without even breaking a sweat. The light emanating from the lava cast his own shadow onto the walls, allowing him to fight the ghostly figures. He whacked one with the silhouette of his staff, then whirled around and kicked another. They attacked from both sides, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

Finally, the ice was thin enough that Kai could break out. Jay finally got back to his feet at about the same time. Garmadon was nearly finished with the shadows. Jay signaled to Kai and then they both charged at the old man. But Garmadon was ready for them and ducked out of the way so that they nearly collided with each other.

Kai turned and swung again, but Garmadon was too fast. Then Garmadon hit Kai on the head with his staff, leaving Kai briefly disoriented. Kai stumbled and Garmadon snatched the golden sword off his back. Kai blindly reached out to stop him, but ended up tripping over his own feet instead.

When the room stopped swaying, Kai saw the older man running towards Nya. It appeared that while they were fighting, she had managed to break free from her captors and was struggling to fend them both off when Garmadon came to her aid.

"Come on!" Kai urged Jay on, but they didn't reach them in time. Together, Nya and Garmadon were able to knock Zane down and throw Cole on top of him. Kai and Jay only reached them as they were making a break for the exit.

But Wu was not willing to take any risks. "Awaken, guardian of the deep!" he shouted, his shadowy form growing in his anger. "You mustn't let them steal the sword!"

At his call, a scaly head rose out of the lava in front of Garmadon and Nya.

_No!_ Kai thought. He'd done enough damage already, he wasn't about to let this beast hurt his sister.

The dragon's back was turned to Kai. It stood between its prey, trapped on a small isle in the center of the temple, and their only exit. Kai leapt onto the dragon's back, using it like a stepping stone, and then landed at Nya and Garmadon's side. The ground began to rumble and sway under his feet as the dragon whipped its flaming tail through a cluster of stalactites that hung over the entrance. The rocks crumbled and fell to the ground, effectively blocking the doorway.

Kai looked to his friends. He could see Cole on the other side of the lava pool, cowering behind the beast, while Zane and Jay stood ready to fight it if necessary. Now that he'd put himself in danger, they wouldn't be able to escape, either.

The fire dragon bared its teeth and roared at the bearers of the golden sword. Kai had to get it back from Garamdon and get to the other side of the cave – at least then it would come after him and not his sister. He whirled around and used the hilt of his own sword to strike Garmadon. While it didn't incapacitate him, it caught him off guard long enough so Kai could take back the sword.

"Kai!"

He ignored his sister as he used Spinjitzu in a desperate attempt to reach solid ground on the edge of the room. It worked, and he barely made it there unharmed. But then he still had an angry dragon to worry about.

The dragon's attention was now on Kai at least, but his sister was still trapped. Nya turned to her sensei. "What are we going to do? There's no way out!"

"There is one," Garmadon said solemnly. He retreated from their little isle onto another rock formation at the back end of the cave.

"Wait, what are you –"

With a loud cry, Garmadon used the shurikens to slice through the rock on which he stood, setting himself adrift in the lava.

"No, stop him!" Wu seethed. Kai couldn't see what his plan must be, or even how he should stop it.

The old sensei knelt down on the rock as it slowly drifted away and placed the shuriken on his lap. "Wu has managed to get three of the weapons. If he plans to bring them here, then I must take the Shurikens of Ice to the Underworld."

"No! This is all my fault, I shouldn't have come by myself –there has to be another way!"

Garmadon didn't argue as he drifted further down the river of lava. He reached the far end –

– and dropped into the Underworld.

"No!" Nya moved forward as if she was going to run after him, but stopped short at the bubbling lava. Kai tried to move forward to get to her, but the dragon moved to block his path.

"Then I will meet you there, brother! Bring the weapons to the Underworld at once!" Wu ordered before he vanished.

Zane and Cole and Jay hurried toward the entrance, but Kai lingered still. He couldn't leave Nya here.

"Nya!" he called. He could see her behind the dragon's form. "Nya!" he said again, louder this time. She turned, but the dragon just got in his way again, roaring in his face with its awful breath. Kai looked at the sword in his hand. All it wanted was the sword. It wouldn't hurt her.

Kai backed toward the entrance where the others had managed to create an opening. He took one last look at his sister before he turned and ran.


	15. Chapter 15 - Into the Underworld

**AHHH Happy New DECADE you guys! Here's to another ten years of Ninjago!**

* * *

Garmadon woke with a start. His grip around the shuriken tightened as he looked around for any sign of danger. He was in what at first glance appeared to be a cave. He could see that he was alone, but most certainly not safe. He had made it to the Underworld.

Garmadon got to his feet. In the distance he could see the Skulkin, milling about on the floating isles that made up the dark realm. He ducked behind a pointed rock as a squad passed by. If he was to make it to his brother without being seen, he would have to be very careful.

Storing the shuriken in his robes, he made sure there was no one nearby, then crept out from behind the rocks that had hidden him.

After many, many years, it was time to face his brother again.

* * *

Generally speaking, Pixal was a light sleeper. Of course, to say that she 'slept' was a relative term. During the time when she would rest and reboot her systems, her sensors were still fully functional, so that she could know if there was anything to threaten her safety. However, she'd had to tone down the sensitivity while on their travels, or else everything in the forest would set off her alarms.

But now there was something else, something bigger that awoke Pixal. She opened her eyes to all sorts of warnings from her systems, mainly about disturbances in the earth.

It took less than a second for her to realize that Garmadon and Nya were missing. She quickly woke Seliel and Skylor, and with their help, she was able to track their missing companions through the woods. It soon became apparent that the trail led toward the Temple of Fire, and they found themselves gazing upon a structure rooted in a volcano.

The three girls hurried up the stone steps of the Fire Temple, hoping they weren't too late. But as they drew near, Pixal could see from the rubble that there had already been some sort of battle. They stopped short.

"Nya! Sensei!" Seliel called.

"It appears that we are too late," Pixal told her

Seliel eyed the rubble as if it was deliberately standing in their way. "Look, there's an opening near the top! We can climb up and get inside."

Pixal followed her gaze, but it appeared that the stones were too loose for them to climb, and too heavy to move. "I wouldn't recommend it. It appears to be unstable and could collapse on top of us."

"But what if they're still in there? There must be something we can do. Come on, girls, think!"

"There's nothing we can do," Skylor objected. "If Nya and Sensei Garmadon had to face the ninja on their own, there's no way they could have won. And if Wu's students have already gotten the sword and the shuriken, then they would have taken them straight to the Underworld – the one place no mortal can cross over." She took a seat on the steps, resting her head in her hands. "We did our best, but . . . it's over, now."

In a rare moment of tenacity, Pixal started running a number of scenarios and possibilities in her head. But she could find no solution to help their friends, nor to get follow the ninja to the Underworld. Perhaps Skylor was right. Perhaps it had been foolish to think they ever stood a chance.

Then a voice sounded from nowhere.

"We might not be able to cross over . . ."

Pixal blinked in surprise when she identified the disembodied voice of their fourth companion. That was certainly Nya's voice, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then the earth began to shake and the temple split open. Two halves of the building slid apart to reveal the inside. And there Nya sat, atop the back of a large, red creature.

"But a dragon can!" Nya smiled as the girls stared at her in awe, wondering how she could have possibly tamed the beast. "My father used to tell me stories about the dragons," she began to explain as she gently pet its head. "How they were mystical creatures that belonged to both worlds and ferried between them. Once he realized that I wanted to protect the sword as much as he did, he actually became quite a softy!" The dragon turned its head to nuzzle her affectionately.

"Wow," Seliel breathed.

"Come on!" Nya waved them over. Skylor and Seliel clambered onto its back, both admittedly very excited to ride a dragon. Pixal, however, remained on the ground. She eyed the dragon skeptically as she ran a few calculations in her mind.

"What's wrong, Pixal?" Nya asked.

"By my calculations, this dragon will be able to support our combined weight. Being that I am composed mostly of metal, I weigh significantly more than any of you, and all four of us may be more than the dragon can bear. But you may go ahead without me."

Nya hummed thoughtfully. "I might have a way to fix that."

* * *

"Whoohoo!" Nya shouted as the fire dragon arched through the clouds. "This is amazing!"

Pixal also had to smile from where she sat on the ice dragon. They were sailing through an ocean of cloud, the wind buoying them up in a wide open sky. The wind was strong, but the sun shone brightly above. Far, far below, glimpses of the ground could be seen between wisps of cloud, like glimpsing another world through puddles in the sky.

It was a dazzling sight, even to an android. "I do quite enjoy this," Pixal agreed.

While they had gone and recruited all the dragon guardians from the previous locations, Nya filled them in on what had happened in the Fire Temple. Pixal had taken note of how she tried to brush over the part where her brother had betrayed her, and there was something in Nya's eyes that Pixal couldn't quite read. She would have to keep an eye on Nya when they encountered Wu's students again.

It wasn't too hard convincing the dragons to help since they already had the fire dragon to vouch for them. Now each of the four girls rode a dragon through the sky.

"What do we do now?" Skylor shouted above the wind.

"I think we're about to find out!" Seliel answered as all four dragons reared in the air.

They suddenly plunged down toward the earth. Pixal's anxiety levels spiked as they drew closer to the ground, picking up speed. But logic told her that they wouldn't put their own lives at risk without reason, so she leaned forward and gripped the reigns, determined to see this through.

The dragons spun and suddenly burst into a cyclone of color, not unlike a tornado of Spinjitzu. They picked up speed and drilled into the earth, but instead of colliding with the ground, they simply passed right through it.

A gasp escaped Pixal. They were in a tunnel, peppered with cracks that let in light of all colors. The dragons careened down the tunnels, speeding up faster still. They nimbly dodged obstacles of shooting fire and pointed rock faster than even Pixal's eyes could register. Faster and faster, the dragons beat their wings. She held on tight, feeling as if she might be blown off.

Suddenly they were engulfed in darkness. There was no light or sound or anything. It was like an empty vacuum devoid of any perceivable sensations. Then color and feeling flooded back and Pixal's dragon was skidding to a halt. She was unprepared for the sudden stop and was thrown of its back only to hit the ground with an "Oomf!"

Pixal's eyes darted this way and that as she sat up and tried to make sense of everything again.

Seliel was beside her, laughing. "That was incredible! Let's do it again!"

Pixal just smiled to herself as she got to her feet.

"Maybe another time." Skylor suggested. "For now, it looks like we've got our hands full." Pixal followed her gaze across a vast expanse of empty air. In the distance, she could see floating isles with bridges strung between them. It was dim and cold, like a gigantic cavern, though she couldn't make out another wall on the far side. It seemed to go on forever. There was a horrible stench, similar to how the Skulkin smelled, but ten times worse. Below was a towering structure, embellished with bones. It was surrounded by the skeleton warriors.

"They're expecting us," Nya observed.

Sure enough, a couple of skeletons stood at the bridge leading to the tallest structure. Pixal guessed that was where Master Wu resided. Zeroing in on the bridge, Pixal focused her eyes and her audio receptors as the two stopped another Skulkin pushing a cart before it could cross.

"Hold up!" said one of the guards. "Nothing gets through without inspection.

"Ninja search!" the second yelled before he dived into the cart and ransacked the cargo. Pixal took note of how thorough he was, throwing things about and most likely breaking all of it. There would be no hope of sneaking in that way.

When he'd finally finished, the skeleton dismounted from the cart and waved it on. "Okay, clear to pass." At that point, however, it was pointless, seeing as the cart was now empty.

Pixal's attention was snapped back to her teammates when Skylor spoke. "Come on let's –" Skylor made to move but then paused. "I mean, I've got a plan." When Seliel nodded for her to continue, Skylor pointed up to the ceiling. Pixal raised her eyes and saw that there were scores of stalactites hanging over the isles.

"We can climb across those to the fortress without being spotted," Skylor explained.

"Good idea," said Seliel. Nya and Pixal nodded, and it was agreed. "Let's hurry," Seliel added. "And keep an eye out for any of Wu's students. They're craftier than those skeletons."

At the mention of the boys, Pixal noticed Nya take a deep breath, as if steeling herself for the imminent confrontation. There was no denying her courage.

Then Nya looked back at the dragons, but the beasts didn't seem to be paying them any mind. In fact, the earth dragon appeared to be settling in for a nap. "Do we just . . . leave them here?"

"They want to keep the weapons safe as much as we do," Pixal reasoned. "But they seem to understand that this is our fight. I'm sure they will still be here when we get back."

One by one the girls each leaped up and grabbed hold of one of the pointed rocks. Pixal swung her feet and used the momentum to carry herself over to the next one. The height didn't bother her. Still, she couldn't help but be curious to know if there was a bottom, or if anyone unfortunate enough to fall would simply fall forever.

At one point, when she jumped and clung to a stalactite, she started to slip. As she shifted for a better grip, a stone was dislodged and dropped toward the ground. She followed its path with her eyes, concerned that it would alert the Skulkin to their presence. But it only hit a stray Skulkin directly on the head, knocking it out and preserving their secret. Pixal continued onward.

As they moved forward, the stalactites became more frequent and closer together. It was easier to climb along now, and she could hold on to two at the same time.

"I don't see any sign of the ninja," Seliel commented, looking down without a hint of fear.

"This is going to be a piece of cake," Nya said, her confidence growing. "Those boys won't even know what hit 'em."

"Umm . . . guys . . ."

They all took a look at Skylor, then followed her fearful gaze upward. A dozen pairs of glowing red eyes and sharp pincers leaned toward them –

Spykor!

The girls yelped and instinctively released the rocks that they were now realizing weren't rocks at all. They fell through the air and landed, once again, on the stone hard ground. Pixal was stunned for the second time in so many minutes as the wind was knocked out of her artificial lungs.

As they were getting to their feet, Pixal registered a warning ringing out: "NINJAAAA!"

Perhaps it wouldn't be as easy as they had thought . . . .


	16. Chapter 16 - Masters of Spinjitzu

Garmadon had made it to the throne room in the heart of the Skulkin's base. It was as dark and dank as every other part of the Underworld. He crossed a bridge made of bone as he approached the elevated seat that was centered on the other side of the room. Two torches of purple flame rested on the throne, providing the only light.

"Brother . . ."

Garmadon whirled around to see Wu standing in one corner of the room. "Brother." He looked different than when they had last seen each other, and though the sight of his blackened form falling into the Underworld had haunted Garmadon since that day, it was still jarring to see him like this. A long dark beard revealed that he had grown older as well. It pained Garmadon to think of how long his brother had been trapped down here, stewing in his hatred and malice.

But there was no use wishing things were different. He couldn't change the past, but now was the time to protect the future. Garmadon brandished the Shuriken of Ice and approached his brother.

However, it seemed that Wu wasn't willing to fight. "Seize the shuriken!" he ordered, and Skulkin dropped from above, surrounding Garmadon.

"Ninja-GO!" Garmadon shouted as he spun into a purple tornado, sucking up all the skeletons one by one and spitting them back out. And just like that, they were finished. Garmadon slowed back down to face his brother again. "You'll have to do better than that!"

"My pleasure." Samukai crept up from behind, armed with the other three Weapons of Spinjitzu. As they squared off, Garmadon backed up only to find himself right on the edge of the floating spot of land where they stood. He glanced backward as a chunk of rock crumbled under foot and took note of the dangerously far distance below.

While his attention was diverted, Samukai leapt at him to strike. But Garmadon was faster, and the skeleton general missed. He swung again and again, Garmadon easily dodging his attacks. Then, as Samukai swung the Sword of Fire down, Garmadon blocked it with the Shuriken of Ice. They found themselves locked in a struggle to overpower one another as the two weapons pushed against each other.

Meanwhile, Wu went back to his throne and took a seat to watch the fight. "Teach him a lesson," he ordered with a sneer.

* * *

Nya, Skylor, Pixal, and Seliel grouped together and stood back-to-back as the Skulkin crowded around them.

"Okay, I'll admit it," said Seliel. "These are steep odds. But maybe . . . ten to one? I think we can manage."

As she said this, the Spykor lowered themselves down from the ceiling, and their odds suddenly dropped.

Pixal's eyes were scanning the gathering crowd intently. "Probability of survival: too low to quantify –"

"Forget it. Who cares about odds?" Seliel said. "There's a battle to be fought!"

"Hold on!"Nya said, warning her friend away from rushing ahead. "Skylor? Any bright ideas?" she asked hopefully.

Skylor looked all around, assessing their options. They weren't too far from the bridge, so maybe they could make a break for it . . . but could they outrun the Skulkin? Maybe if they hopped on one of the vehicles nearby, they could use its weapons against the skeletons. Then again, the vehicles appeared to be more heavily guarded than the bridge. They wouldn't be able to get out of this with anything more than fists.

"I've got something," Skylor announced. "But it's going to depend on you three. We're going to spin our way out of here."

"Spinjitzu?" Nya said in disbelief.

Seliel didn't take her eyes off the enemy as she said, "In case you've forgotten, the rest of us haven't figured that out yet."

"Sensei Garmadon did say that it was already inside of us," Pixal reminded her.

"Exactly! Now watch closely and maybe you'll learn a thing or two." Following the moves that she'd learned from her father, Skylor spun herself into an amber cyclone of power. The Skulkin weren't expecting it, and were helpless against her. For Skylor, everything moved in slow motion – Skulkin came at her from all sides, but she could easily fight them off, and they were soon thrown back out of her tornado, subdued.

She slowed to a stop and called to her teammates, "Come on, you can do it!"

"But we don't know how!" Nya protested in frustration.

Pixal's gaze was focused on Skylor as she spun into another tornado. "Analyzing pattern . . ." She gasped. "Her movements – they're identical to the ones we learned on the training course at the monastery!"

"What? How?"

Pixal focused on the Skulkin horde. One charged toward her. She leaped over its head before it could strike, just like she would at the monastery. She ducked immediately when she landed while another skeleton swiped at her head with its blade, then whacked it in the rib cage as a third came running toward her. Finally, she spun into a kick, when all of a sudden, a whirlwind of bright color erupted around her.

Skylor stopped and grinned as skeletons were sucked into her friend's swirling, lavender tornado and then spat back out. She turned back to Seliel and Nya, who were still staring dumbfounded. "It's like she said," she called over the sea of skeletal warriors. "You already know it!"

Spinning again, Skylor went around and picked off more skeletons, one after another. She glanced over as Seliel and finally Nya were both engulfed in their own Spinjiztu tornadoes. When Skylor slowed down again, she found that together the four of them had managed to take out nearly every one of their enemies. "Come on!" Skylor called, waving the others toward the bridge.

They had bought themselves enough time to run across to the fortress and rush down a hole with a spiraling staircase. They had a bit of a head start, but it wouldn't be long before the skeletons managed to get back up again.

Skylor led them down the flight of steps, spiraling deeper into the fortress. It was eerily quiet. The only sounds came from their hurried footsteps and labored breathing as they sped down the stairs. Skylor only hoped they were headed in the right direction.

This was soon confirmed as they came to a stop at the foot of the last few steps.

All four of the boys blocked their path, guarding the door that must lead to Wu and the golden weapons. Their own weapons were drawn, daring the girls to a challenge, and the Earth Ninja stepped forward.

"Where do you think you're going?"


	17. Chapter 17 - Fighting Fair

Seliel stepped forward. "I take it you're not going to make this easy?"

"You're the ones making this difficult," Cole said. "There doesn't have to be a fight if you would just walk away now."

"Not a chance. Stand aside, or we'll remove you ourselves."

Jay scoffed. "Tough words coming from someone who's already lost."

Nya stepped forward, and pleaded to her brother, "Why are you doing this?" Everyone fell silent and turned to look at Kai. Tension filled the air as he fought to keep a straight face. "Why –" Nya broke off as her voice wavered, whether it was out of anger or if she was fighting back tears, no one could be sure. There was a flicker of something in Kai's expression, something other than the usual coldness, but it quickly vanished like smoke.

"Whatever Garmadon's told you is a lie," Cole answered for him. "He only wants the weapons so he can conquer Ninjago"

"Funny, that's what he said Wu planned to do," Skylor remarked. "What makes your master any different?"

"Master Wu wants to bring peace to Ninjago," Zane answered. "The world as it is is imperfect, but with the Weapons of Spinjitzu, we can vanquish evil and abolish injustice."

"Peace through control is not peace at all," said Pixal. "You are blinded to the true evil that you've allowed into your hearts."

"Ninjago _was _peaceful," Seliel added. "Before you four showed up."

Cole tightened his grip on his scythe. "That's enough! Leave now, or else."

Seliel resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Are you going to keep threatening us, or are you going to fight?"

Nya took another step towards her brother. "Please, Kai. It doesn't have to be like this. How – how can you not see that what you're doing is wrong?"

"I've done what I had to," Kai said defensively. "I didn't want it to happen like this, but . . ." He struggled to find the words to defend himself. Maybe he couldn't find the words because they didn't exist.

Nya was shaking her head, and one could see that now she really was on the verge of tears. "You haven't just betrayed me, you_ abandoned_ me. You know, I thought for sure that you were dead. You left, and then Mom and Dad died, and I was so sure that you were gone too . . . then I found out you were alive, and I thought, maybe . . . maybe I could get you back . . . but then you went and betrayed me like that!"

Kai couldn't hide his guilt anymore. "Nya –"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! There's no excuse for what you did! You only have a choice: me or them. You're either my brother or my enemy."

Kai was taken aback by her ultimatum. The room was silent, full of waiting energy that pulsed through the ninja, ready to pounce on each other at the drop of a hat.

Then Kai got that cold, determined look on his face again as he shook his head. "Nya, I'm not your enemy. But you don't understand what's at stake here."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but Nya wouldn't let him finish. "Fine! Then I'll do whatever _I _have to do to stop you!" She charged at her brother, trident drawn, and he only just had enough time to block her attack.

Fighting erupted all around them and both sides clashed to defend their teammates. Kai slashed Nya's trident with his sword, driving her backwards so he could get some room to breathe. "I don't want to fight you! Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Stubborn!" Nya ducked to one side so she could get away from his flurry of attacks. "You're the one who won't list to – _reason!"_ Her words were accented with a sharp jab that narrowly missed stabbing Kai's arm. "Are you really so desperate to have all four weapons that you would betray your own family?"

"I had no choice! You weren't going to just hand us the shurikens! Don't act like you wouldn't have done the same," he said, as if it was a certain fact. He struck the trident away when she came at him again. "What do you expect me to do? Let Garmadon win?"

"I expect you to _fight fair!" _She jabbed again, this time trying to catch his blade between the prongs. She twisted the spear, trying to break the blade in two, but Kai twisted with it until he could slide his sword out.

"You know," she said, pausing for a breath, "I did all this to save you. When I found out what had happened to you, I wanted to fight in the hope that I could win you back. But I guess now that you've shown your true colors, I'm starting to see that the only thing _you _care about is power."

Kai looked like he was appalled that she would say such a thing, then swiftly turned to anger. "If that's what you think this is about, then you really don't understand me at all. I don't need your help, there's nothing to save me from. So why don't you just go back home and leave me alone!" He swiped again at the trident, which Nya used as a shield to block his attacks. But with her longer weapon she had the advantage, and it was all Kai could do to try and fend her off.

Nearby, Selieland Cole clashed with sword and scythe. Seliel was finding it difficult to block the curved blade with her katanas, so instead she lodged her blade in the scythe's wooden shaft.

The black ninja's eyes widened as she put pressure on the sword and the blade sunk deeper. He tried to yank the scythe away, and Seliel stumbled as her arm was yanked as well – her bad arm, which was still sore from the Floating Ruins. But the blade was in too deep and her grip on the sword too stubborn. Seliel smirked in spite of the twinge in her shoulder.

"What's the matter? Can't manage without a weapon?"

Cole scowled. "Fine. If that's the way you want it." He threw the scythe aside, and Seliel let the sword go as well. The two weapons clattered to the ground, essentially useless now. Seliel sheathed her other sword, then they both raised their fists. Finally, she could get back at him for their previous fight.

"Ladies first," she goaded him.

Cole scoffed. Nonetheless, he threw the first punch and she dodged. But to her surprise, he struck again, anticipating her evasive move. She gasped at the impact and staggered backwards.

"Not as easy as you thought, is it?" he said. "You clearly haven't had enough training. But hey, if you like getting your butt kicked, be my guest."

Seliel didn't respond She focused her energy and teleported right behind him. As soon as she re-materialized, she struck him in the back. Yet he still managed to keep his footing and whirled around.

"Alright, so maybe you've got some potential," he admitted. He stood up straighter. "Clever move, fighting an unarmed opponent with your elemental power. I didn't think you'd be that crafty. Clearly your potential is wasted; Master Wu would appreciate having an intelligent fighter like you on our side."

Seliel was dismayed, not only by his audacity, but by herself. By using her element, she held the advantage while he was virtually powerless without the golden scythe. She hadn't meant to trick him, but it had seemed to be her only option. How could she have been so disgraceful?

And how dare he compare her to himself?

Enraged, she swung her fist, but he swiftly sidestepped. "I am nothing like you people!" she shouted. Another punch, but she missed again. "I would never join you."

"You're wasting your time with these guys," he argued. "You can't win anyway, so why not give up and go somewhere your talents can really be put to use?"

Seliel could feel her nails digging into the material of her gloves. Was he actually being serious or was he just trying to provoke her? "All I'm going to do is march in there and take down that evil man. And you won't stop me!" She swung again.

"Alright, that's enough." He caught her fist in his hand, holding it there with his iron grip.

Seliel gritted her teeth and mustered all her strength into her other hand. "No it's NOT!" She punched him square in the nose, making him release her as he fell to the ground with an _"Oof!"_

She shook out her hand, satisfied. "Not as easy as you thought, is it?" she gloated.

Cole held his face in one hand as he pushed himself to a sitting position. "Seriously? That's it, you asked for it." He leapt back to his feet and came at her with a series of blows.

Meanwhile, Skylor was facing off against Jay. He was quick, she'd give him that. But deceiving him wasn't much of a challenge. She would fake a punch and then kick him instead, and he barely had time to recuperate before her next blow.

Pixal was fighting Zane nearby. Briefly, Skylor wondered why Pixal didn't use her element again. When they had won the Shurikens of Ice, she had easily dispatched the white ninja with her power. He probably didn't even know what Pixal's element was to prevent it from happening again, so why didn't Pixal just use it already?

Skylor was snapped out of her thoughts as she narrowly avoided a kick from the blue ninja. She tried to retaliate but missed. As his nunchucks came flying towards her, Skylor flipped away. Her eyes were again caught by the gleam of Pixal's silvery skin and a plan took shape in her mind.

Skylor dashed to her teammate as she tugged on the fingers of her glove, yanking it off to expose her hand. She stuffed the glove in her pocket and reached out to catch Pixal's arm, pulling the sleeve back so she could touch her wrist.

A cold, heavy weight crept into her hand and up her arm as power flowed from one to another. Then she extended her other hand, pushing the power back out as she focused on the shurikens in the white ninja's hand. The weapon flew from his fingers, and he was momentarily too surprised to know what to do.

Skylor took another looked around and concentrated on the rest of their enemies' weapons. "Behind me!" she ordered as she felt for the presence of the metallic objects. Her teammates hesitated for a moment before scrambling to her side. Skylor yanked the boys' weapons from their hands and threw them against the wall with surprising precision.

Zane still stood before her, clearly not willing to give up even though he was unarmed. She could see in his eyes that he was thinking, trying to figure out how she did it. But with Pixal's ability, she could feel the weight that covered him, as if he himself was encased in metal. Skylor couldn't help but smile to herself.

She reached out and took hold of the alloy. She saw a surprised gasp escape his lips just before she shoved him backwards, right into his own teammates, and sent all four of them crashing through the door to the throne room.

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**Well, now there are only two chapters left, but for me that means only ONE MORE WEEK! But before you get too excited, I need to tell you guys . . .**

**Normally, while I'm posting one book, I'm supposed to be editing the next one. However a LOT of stuff went wrong, and I only just started editing book 3 a few weeks ago. I can't really publish it right now because it still has a lot plot holes and inconsistencies, but my goal is to finish it within the next month, which seems pretty reasonable. I have plans to post a preview chapter which you'll be able to follow so you can know as soon as the story is updated, but I'll go into more detail about that next week. (hint: contrary to popular belief, we're skipping ahead a few seasons. Pythor and the Fang Blades are going to have to wait a little while, hehe)**

**But yeah, I like to give you guys a little head's up so you're not caught totally off guard. I hope you all are willing to stick around for the wait! I can tell you, it's gonna be good!**


	18. Chapter 18 - Weapons of Destiny

The boys landed in a heap just inside Wu's throne room, dazed. The girls followed close behind.

"Sorry, Pixal," Skylor said as she pulled her glove back over her hand. "But I decided it was more important to finish the fight." Pixal wasn't about to object. Skylor was right, of course, and her plan had worked, so there would be no point in arguing about it.

Now they could see that Sensei Garamadon was going head-to-head with Samukai. The skeleton general held three of the golden weapons while their sensei was only armed with one. The boys were already scrambling to their feet. Pixal prepared to fight again when Wu called from the other side, "Leave them!"

Without hesitation, the four boys retreated to their master, creeping around the edges of the room to avoid the fight taking place. Next to Skylor, Seliel moved forward to intervene, but Skylor held an arm out to hold her back.

"What are you doing?" Seliel hissed. "We have to help!"

"If we join in, so will they." Skylor nodded to the boys on the other side of the room. "We know we can't overpower them, and they already have most of the weapons. Sensei will at least stand a chance on his own. It's up to him, now."

Seliel looked like she was about to argue, but held her tongue. Pixal calculated accuracy in Skylor's statement, so she watched intently as their sensei fought on.

Garmadon blasted Samukai with a shot of ice, but the skeleton dodged fluidly and retaliated with fire. As Garmadon rolled away, Samukai brought down the golden scythe. The ground split open between them. The bridges connecting the floating isle to the surrounding land fell into the abyss and what little ground remained for them to stand on began to crumble and sink.

Garmadon threw the shuriken, but Samukai knocked it away with the sword of fire. It arched in the air and Garmadon deftly caught it again. But Samukai struck him with the nunchucks of lightning. The girls winced as their sensei was knocked to the ground. The last golden weapon fell from his hand and slid across the floor to Samukai's feet.

Pixal was tempted to try and snatch up the shuriken before he did, but they were still outnumbered. She didn't like the idea of standing by anymore, after they had already worked so hard, but it seemed that they had no options.

The skeleton general reached out, intending to pick it up, but paused when Wu said, "Bring me the four weapons."

Samukai hesitated. One could practically see the gears turning in his head as he looked between his master and the fourth and final Weapon of Spinjiztu. Finally, he bent down to take it in his bony hand.

"No . . ." he said, turning to Wu. "You will obey me, now!"

Next to Wu, his students readied themselves to attack the Skulkin general and take the weapons by force. But instead of ordering them to do so, Wu simply chuckled at Samukai's attempt to assert himself.

A strong breeze began to blow from an unknown source. Pixal detected a rise in energy emanating from the Weapons of Spinjitzu. The weapons shook in Samukai's hands and he looked to them in surprise.

Sensei Garmadon took the opportunity to retreat to his own students who watched now with fascination. "_No one_ can handle all of their power at once," he reminded the over-ambitious skeleton.

"You're predictable as ever, Samukai," Wu sneered.

The weapons began shaking more violently, and it became obvious that they were out of Samukai's control. "What's happening to me?"

"Exactly what I planned." From across the room, Pixal could see the boys exchanging glances. It appeared that not even they had known of their Master's scheme. "The weapons have too much power for even me to handle at once. But combined together, they will create a vortex that will finally permit me to leave the Underworld."

Now the weapons were glowing. Pixal's readings were going haywire, most of them off the charts. The weapons were emitting dangerous levels of energy. "Stay back," Pixal warned her friends, though they were too captivated by what was happening to try and stop it.

The weapons shuddered and trembled as Samukai was lifted into the air. Now the energy readings were reaching levels too high for Pixal to interpret anymore. Then, with agonized shout, Samukai burst into nothingness. The four weapons fell clattered to the ground.

"Gather your weapons!" Wu ordered, and the boys rushed to retrieve them before anyone else could. At the same time, a flashing, blue vortex opened up behind them. Wu stepped down from his throne and approached the portal. Everyone, even his students, looked on in awe at the power created by the weapons combined.

Garmadon moved closer and called out to his brother, "Don't do this, Wu! What would Father think?"

Wu whirled around in a fury. "Father is no longer here!" He looked to his students and nodded toward the portal. They hesitated, but Cole stepped forward and went through first. The others followed closely after him. Pixal observed that only Kai paused to look back to his sister one last time. Nya refused to return his gaze, so he left.

"The balance between good and evil has always held fast," Wu said. "But I go to a place where the balance can be rewritten. I will become stronger, and soon I will be able to possess the four weapons, so that I can recreate the world in my image!" With that, he turned walked through and the portal snapped shut behind him.

Darkness seemed to take over as the light from the portal vanished, and the others blinked as it took some time for their eyes to adjust. Silence hung in the air.

Garmadon hopped back across the gap and stood at the place where his brother had been a moment ago. "He'll be back," the sensei said, though Pixal couldn't tell if his tone was one of sorrow or dread.

Nya came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be ready when he does."

"If he thinks this is over, he's got another thing coming," Seliel added.

Garmadon surveyed his four students as they gathered around him. "Then I have done my part," he said as a small smile broke across his face. "The balance has been restored. At least, for a little while."


	19. Chapter 19 - Welcome Home

Back at the monastery, the dark clouds that hung overhead began to melt away like snow on a warm day. The sun shone through once again, chasing away the shadows. Young Lloyd saw the rays of light coming through the window and dashed over to peer through the glass.

"Mom, they did it!" he called.

Misako came to look over his shoulder. Smiling, she nodded. "It sure looks like it."

Lloyd was watching the gate doors keenly, nose pressed against the pane, expecting the girls and his father to come through at any moment. But the doors remained still. "They should be back by now," he said, disappointed.

What if someone had gotten hurt, he wondered. Or worse, what if they were trapped in the Underworld, banished like his uncle? A number of grim possibilities wandered through his mind until a beat sounded from above. Lloyd gasped when he looked up.

A large, red dragon drifted down and into the center of the monastery with Nya and his father on its back. Lloyd dashed out of the monastery, his mother right behind him. "Dad!" he shouted as his father dismounted more dragons were landing with the rest of the girls on their backs. Lloyd leapt into his father's arms and gave him a great big hug.

"Lloyd! Am I ever glad to see you!" he said, returning the hug in full.

"My turn." Misako wrapped one arm around his torso to join in.

When Garmadon set his son down, the boy was practically bouncing up and down. "You won! Does that mean you're going to stay, now?"

"Technically, we did not win anything," Pixal interjected solemnly. "Wu has vanished for the time being, but he will certainly be back."

Seliel put an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, and we'll be waiting for him!" She raised her hand for a high-five, and all four girls clapped their hands together, even letting Lloyd jump up to add his.

"And next time, _I'll _make sure he doesn't get away!" Lloyd announced.

"I think you've still got a long way to go before then," Nya said. To demonstrate, she grabbed him around the neck and rubbed her knuckles into his hair.

"Aaagh!" Lloyd yelled, struggling in her grip.

"Hey, I hate to be the one to point this out, but is anyone else hungry?" Skylor asked.

"We'll have a feast to celebrate," Misako announced.

"Ooh, I'll help cook!" Seliel volunteered.

Everyone cheered and crowded inside. But Pixal intercepted Nya on their way in. "I wanted to inform you that I share in your remorse for your brother. It is a shame that he could not see sense."

Nya looked away. "He made his choice. And I've made mine. I'll do whatever it takes to protect Ninjago."

"Perhaps a fight will not be necessary. You're brother is not corrupt in the same manner as Wu; your relationship may not have to be so strained, either. I theorize that if we can reveal Wu's true intentions, then we would be able to persuade his students to turn on him. There may still be hope."

Nya sighed. "I just don't know anymore. I could never understand what was going on his head, and I certainly don't now." Nya crossed her arms, almost afraid to let herself dream. "But . . . I hope you're right."

Nya was surprised when Pixal gave her a hug. "I know I speak for all of our friends when I say that the rest of us will lend whatever aid we can in order to get him back."

Nya smiled in spite of her doubt and hugged her back. "Thanks, Pixal."

"Nya! Pixal!" Lloyd was calling from inside the monastery. "Where'd you guys go?"

The girls broke apart and Nya yelled back, "We're coming!"

But someone shushed him from inside. "Forget them," said Skylor. "It'll mean more food for us!"

"Ooohhh . . . Nevermind!"

Nya laughed as she and Pixal started to head inside. Perhaps the family she'd once had was gone, but what she'd found instead was something almost as great. Kai had his toxic friends and his controlling master, and even if he chose them above his true family, a part of Nya would always love him, no matter how hard she tried to deny it. But at least she had people to look out for her, to laugh with her, and to comfort her. At least something good had come from all of this.

* * *

**Woot we've reached the end of the second book! ****Thanks so much for reading and for all your encouraging comments!**

**As promised, if you go to my profile you'll find Book 3 with a preview chapter that'll give you a taste of what's to come. You can follow that story so that you'll be notified as soon as I start publishing more! Thanks again, and I'll see you there ;)**


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